Purpose: To investigate the influence of pretreating demineralised enamel with an infiltrant on the margin integrity of Class V like composite restorations on primary teeth bonded with different adhesives.
Materials and methods: Forty specimens from primary molars were demineralised and circular class-V-like cavities were prepared. The cavities were treated with a universal adhesive (Scotchbond Universal Adhesive, 3M Oral Care), applied either in self-etch (SE) or etch-and-rinse mode (ER) mode. In groups SE-I and ER-I, the demineralised margins were pretreated with a caries infiltrant (Icon, DMG) prior to adhesive application. The cavities were restored with a nanofilled composite material and thermocycled. Marginal integrity was evaluated using SEM, and the percentage of continuous margin was statistically analysed.
Results: Specimens treated with the caries infiltrant followed by the adhesive showed similar marginal continuity as the adhesive alone.
Conclusions: Pretreatment of demineralised primary enamel with a caries infiltrant before applying a universal adhesive does not influence the marginal integrity of composite fillings.
Keywords: caries infiltrant; demineralised primary enamel; marginal integrity.