In Vitro Techniques for Microleakage Evaluation of Coronary Restorative Materials: A Scoping and Mapping Review

Abstract

Objectives: To identify the in vitro techniques used for a microleakage evaluation of restorative materials of coronary structure through a scoping and mapping review. Data: This scoping review aims to answer the following question: “what methods are currently for the microleakage assessment of coronary restorative materials?” Sources: The Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases were searched to identify relevant studies published between 2020 and 2024. The results obtained were grouped according to the evaluation method, and a narrative synthesis was made. Study Selection: The literature search identified 1014 articles, and 353 publications were excluded by title and abstract screening. From the remaining 297, thirty-three were excluded. Additionally, 8 articles could not be retrieved, which resulted in the inclusion of 256 articles. The results were grouped according to the type of microleakage evaluation method, resulting in four major categories: colorimetric, imaging, nuclear medicine, and microbiological methods. Conclusions: Currently, several microleakage assessment techniques are being used, with the dye method being the most reported one. Several variations in the experimental protocols exist, which make it difficult to compare the results. The use of dyes and nuclear medicine methods is sensitive and can be used to evaluate microleakage.