Placement techniques of direct posterior composites in class II cavities and associated microleakage: a literature review

ABSTRACT

There are several techniques for placement of posterior composites in class II cavities some of which are old while others are recent. These are divided mainly into the bulk placement [one step] and the incremental placement [several steps]. There are several incremental placement techniques in Class II cavities that were introduced to overcome the clinical failures associated with the bulk technique. There was a significant difference in microleakage between bulk and incremental technique where there was a high microleakage associated with the bulk technique. However, there was no significant difference among the different incremental types in reducing the microleakage. Today's composite materials, though vastly improved, still have some drawbacks that must be overcome before they can replace amalgam as viable posterior restorative materials. Modifications of the tooth preparation and placement of composite resin may help diminish the inherent drawbacks