Purpose: To assess in-vitro the marginal adaptation of three types of glass ionomer cements in primary molars.
Materials and Methods: The sample included thirty sound exfoliated or extracted primary molars for orthodontic purpose. The teeth were divided into 3 equal groups of 10 teeth each according to the type of the restorative material used. Group I were restored with ceramic reinforced glass ionomer, group II were restored with resin modified glass ionomer and group III were restored with conventional glass ionomer. After thermocycling, the teeth were immersed in 2% methylene blue solution for 24 hours, then they were sectioned buccolingually. The extent of dye penetration was detected using a stereomicroscope.
Results: Ceramic reinforced glass ionomer showed the lowest mean microleakage value at both occlusal and cervical margins as compared to the other two groups with statistically significant difference. No statistically significant difference in the mean microleakage was recorded between the resin modified and conventional glass ionomers
Conclusion: Ceramic reinforced glass ionomer revealed the highest sealing ability in class V primary molars when compared to the resin modified and conventional glass ionomer cements.
Keywords: Microleakage, Glass ionomer cements, Class V, Primary molars.