Bacterial Leakage Testing in Dentistry: A Comprehensive Review on Methods, Models, and Clinical Relevance

Abstract

Background: The marginal gap increases the rate of bacterial leakage and treatment failure; the measurement of the marginal gap is questionable. The literature revealed that when bacteria get trapped within the smear layer, they can multiply and re-contaminate the root canal system, leading to treatment failure. Methodology: A literature search was carried out in multiple databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and ScienceDirect, with the help of MeSH terms such as Bacterial infection, Bacterial leakage, Dental leakage, Dental material, Root canal preparation, Root canal obturation, and Tooth penetration. Result: The initial result of the search showed 2252 articles that were relevant enough. However, only 26 articles were eligible based on inclusion criteria. Conclusion: The bacterial leakage test can evaluate one of the most essential properties of dental material: sealing ability. The sealing ability of a dental material can prevent bacterial ingestion and reduce the treatment failure rate. This study discussed all the steps of the bacterial leakage test in detail. This study can help the researcher plan and run a bacterial leakage study successfully, and the results can help clinicians choose the best sealing material for the clinical scenario.