CLINICAL AND SEMIQUANTITATIVE MARGINAL ANALYSIS OF 4 TOOTH-COLORED INLAY SYSTEMS AT 3 YEARS

Objectives: The marginal quality of four tooth-coloured inlay systems was clinically investigated and subjected to computer-aided semiquanti tative marginal analysis under scanning electron microscopy (SEM) afte r 3 years of clinical service. Methods: Three of the restoration types were made using the Cerec CAD-CAM apparatus: one was milled from pref ormed glass ceramic blocks, and the two other inlay types were milled from preformed porcelain blocks. The fourth system was based on an exp erimental indirect resin composite inlay system. Each inlay type was l uted with a different luting resin composite. The clinical evaluation was performed with a mirror and explorer by two clinicians separately, and the marginal analysis was conducted microscopically on replicas ( SEM X 200). Results: After 3 years in situ, all the restorations were clinically acceptable. No recurrent caries was observed. Marginal anal ysis under SEM detected a high percentage of submargination for all fo ur systems, which suggests that their respective resin composite lutin g agents were all subject to wear. The percentage of marginal fracture s on the enamel side as well as on the inlay side did not increase dra matically compared to the 6-month results. Conclusion: The first recal l after 6 months of clinical service indicated how tooth-coloured inla ys behave at their margins. The 3-year results confirmed the early fin dings, indicating that wear of resin composite lutes is important and present in all systems. The two ceramic materials showed a similar beh aviour at the margins. The resin composite inlay performed better at t he inlay site than at the enamel site.