24-Month Clinical Performance of a Glass-Ionomer Restorative System

Method: Twenty six patients with at least 2 but not more than 4 Class II lesions were included in this study. A total of 60 lesions were randomly divided into two groups according to the restorative systems used (n=30). The lesions in Group 1, were restored with a glass-ionomer restorative system (EQUIA/ GC) which was a combination of a packable glass-ionomer (Fuji IX GP EXTRA/ GC) and a self-adhesive nano-filled coating (G-Coat PLUS GC); whereas the lesions in Group 2 were restored with a micro-filled composite (Gradia Direct/ GC) in combination with a self-etch adhesive (G-Bond/ GC) by two calibrated operators according to the manufacturers' instructions. Two independent examiners evaluated the restorations at baseline, 6-12-18 and 24  months according to the modified USPHS criteria. The differences between two groups were statistically evaluated by Pearson Chi-Square test (p=0. 05).

Result: After 24 months, 53 restorations were evaluated in 23 patients with a recall rate of 88.3%.  All the restorations in the two groups were scored as Alpha for retention rate, anatomic form, recurrent caries, surface texture, postoperative sensitivity and color match. For marginal adaptation, 4 restorations (15.4%) in Group 1 and 8 restorations (29.6%) in Group 2 were scored as Bravo. Two restorations ( 7.6%) in Group 1 and 5 restorations (18.5%) in Group 2 were also scored as Bravo for marginal discoloration. However, the differences in terms of marginal adaptation and marginal discoloration were not statistically significant at the end of  24 months (p>0, 05).

Conclusion: The use of both materials for the restoration of  Class II cavities exhibited a similar and clinically acceptable performance after 24-months.