Comparison of Marginal Seal and Tensile Bond Strength of an Alkasite, Zircomer, and Bulk Fill Composite to Carious Affected Primary Molars

Assessment of the micro tensile bond strength (μTBS) and microleakage of contemporary restorative materials (Cention N cement (CN), Bulk-fill Resin-based composite (BF-RBC), and Zirconomer Improved) bonded to carious affected dentin (CAD) of primary molars as compared to conventional control Glass ionomer cement (GIC). Eighty human primary molars having scores 4 and 5 of the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) were included. Specimens were randomly allocated into four groups (n = 20) Group I = GIC, Group 2: Zirconomer Improved, Group 3: CN, and Group 4: BF-RBC. All the samples were thermocycled followed by marginal leakage, μTBS, and failure mode assessment using a dye penetration test, universal testing machine, and a stereomicroscope. The μTBS and microleakage results were examined using (ANOVA) and Tukey post hoc tests. Samples from Group 1 (GIC) revealed the highest value of marginal leakage (30.55±10.31 nm) and the lowest recorded value of μTBS (12.28±0.32 MPa). In contrast, the specimens from Group 3 (CN) demonstrated the lowest levels of microleakage (14.89±4.33 nm) and highest bond integrity (18.12±0.79 MPa). Cention N cement and Bulk-fill composite have shown to be reliable options as a restorative material in primary dentition due to their superior tensile bond strength and reduced marginal leakage scores when applied to caries-affected dentin.