Effect of Finishing and Polishing Time, Technique and Surface Coating on Microleakage of Encapsulated Restorative Resin Modified Glass Ionomer: An in Vitro Study

Background and aim: this study aimed to assess the effect of finishing and polishing time, technique and surface coating on microleakage of encapsulated restorative resin modified glass ionomer (rmgi). materials and methods: in this in vitro study, 40 freshly extracted human premolars were selected. two standard class v cavities were prepared on the buccal and lingual surfaces of each tooth. the prepared teeth were randomly assigned to eight experimental groups (n=10) according to the finishing and polishing time, technique and surface coating. the samples were blindly examined for marginal microleakage using a stereomicroscope at x40 magnification. the mann-whitney u test was used to analyze the obtained data with the level of significance set at p<0.05. results: groups with surface coating showed significantly lower microleakage than uncoated samples (p<0.001). the groups in which discs were used had lower microleakage (p<0.001). there were no statistically significant differences between the groups with delayed or immediate finishing and polishing (p>0.05). our results showed that there were no statistically significant differences between enamel and dentinal walls with regard to marginal microleakage scores (p>0.05). conclusion: immediate finishing and polishing of coated restorations with sof-lex discs decreases their marginal microleakage. also, it is more effective at the gingival margin.