Fracture resistance of primary molars restored with the bonded amalgam technique using various luting agents” - an invitro study

Objective: To compare the fracture resistance of primary molars restored with the bonded amalgam technique using various luting agents viz, Resinomer, Rely X U-100 and GC Fuji PLUS as the bonding agents. Materials: Sixty sound primary molars were selected and randomly assigned to one of four test groups of 15 teeth each, i.e. Group I, Group II, Group III, and Group IV. All four groups were prepared to a standard MOD cavity form and restored with amalgam. In Group I no luting agent was used, in Group II Resinomer, in Group III Rely X U100 and in Group IV GC Fuji PLUS was used respectively. Each Group was then subjected to compressive testing until fracture occurred. The mean loads at fracture of each group were statistically compared using ANOVA with 'Games Howell Post Hoc' test. Results: Group II-Resinomer (852.93Mpa) showed the highest fracture resistance followed by Group IV-GC Fuji PLUS (733.11Mpa), Group III-Rely X U100 (644.83Mpa) and Group I-amalgam alone (637.70Mpa). Conclusion: Primary molars restored with bonded amalgam techniques using various luting agents showed increase in fracture resistance when compared to conventional amalgam restorations.