Microleakage of temporary restorations in complex endodontic access preparations.

The microleakage allowed by three temporary restorative materials used for the sealing of teeth with both endodontic access and multisurface cavity preparations was measured and evaluated. Extracted human incisor, canine, and premolar teeth with extensive carious involvement were prepared and restored with either Cavit, IRM, or TERM. Microleakage was measured by a fluid filtration technique at various time intervals and after thermal stress. The results indicated that the TERM restorations provided excellent seals and were statistically superior to Cavit and IRM for restoring complex endodontic access preparations. The IRM restorations demonstrated significantly greater microleakage after thermal stress, while the Cavit restorations were deemed clinically unacceptable because of extensive cracks, expansion, and extrusion from the tooth preparations. These defects were not observed with the IRM and TERM restorations.