Effect of different liner treatments on postoperative sensitivity of amalgam restorations.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this clinical study was to assess the sensitivity experienced and reported by patients following treatment of primary carious lesions with Class I or Class II amalgam restorations.


METHODS
Only previously untreated teeth were selected. The cavity preparations were treated according to one of four regimens: group 1 = no liner; group 2 = two coats of a copal varnish; group 3 = a dentin adhesive resin liner; group 4 = a resin-modified glass-ionomer liner. Patients were contacted on days 2 and 7 postoperatively and questioned regarding the presence or absence of sensitivity. If sensitivity was experienced, they were asked which stimuli created the sensitivity, the length of time it lasted, and its intensity on a subjective scale. If sensitivity was experienced on day 7, patients were also contacted on days 14, 30, and 90 to assess the degree of sensitivity. Nineteen teeth were included in each of the four groups.


RESULTS
By days 2 and 7, no significant difference existed among groups; by day 14, 22% of restorations in group 2 and 17% of those in group 3 were sensitive, while teeth in groups 1 and 4 exhibited no sensitivity reactions.


CONCLUSIONS
Use of a resin-modified glass-ionomer liner or no dentin treatment resulted in short-term sensitivity in fewer than one third of the teeth. Almost one third of the teeth restored with a dentin adhesive resin liner or copal varnish exhibited initial sensitivity, which lasted up to 30 days in a few teeth.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003723:Dental Amalgam / Q000009:adverse effects; D003736:Dental Cavity Lining; D003764:Dental Materials / Q000009:adverse effects; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods; D003807:Dentin Sensitivity / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017220:Dentin-Bonding Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005899:Glass Ionomer Cements / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D019279:Resin Cements; D012116:Resins, Plant; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric