MICRO-LEAKAGE OF AMALGAM RESTORATIONS WITH HIGH-COPPER CONTENT

An in vitro study of microleakage of the margins of Class II restorations of several high-copper-content amalgams found that in general, leakage increased between 24 hours and a month, but decreased below the 24-hour values after six months; there were some differences in leakage among the products at 24 hours, but not aftersix months: the depth of leakage was not correlated with adaptation of the cavosurface margins; and the high-copper-content amalgams were similar to the conventional composition amalgam tested in regard to microleakage.