Microporous dentin zone beneath resin-impregnated layer

The purpose of this study was to investigate marginal microleakage by examining the resin/dentin interface using a cryo-SEM and a silver ion penetration method. Class 5 cervical cavities were restored using an adhesive resin system following treatment with 37% phosphoric acid gel. The cavity wall adaptation was observed using cryo-SEM to avoid specimen damage. This observation showed excellent marginal adaptation of material to cavity walls and no gap formation. However, silver ions had penetrated beneath the resin-impregnated layer when observed with conventional SEM images, which showed the leakage of silver ions between the resin and decalcified tooth structure without gap formation. This study suggests that the bonding monomers of Clearfil Photo Bond were not fully able to penetrate into the demineralized dentin after phosphoric acid etching, thus leaving a porous zone as a microleakage pathway beneath the resin-impregnated layer.