ASSESSMENT OF MICROLEAKAGE AND MICROHARDNESS OF GLASS IONOMER CEMENT CONTAINING PROPOLIS: In Vitro Study

Introduction: Propolis is a natural product collected by bees. Contemporary dentistry has recently focused on it, due to its antimicrobial properties. Objectives: To evaluate and compare the microleakage and microhardness of GIC containing EEP at 2 different concentrations to the conventional GIC. Materials and Methods: Two tests were assessed 1. Microleakage test :where 24 exfoliated primary teeth were divided randomly into three groups according to the restorative material used after standardized class V cavity preparation: (Group1: Conventional GIC, Group2: GIC containing 25% EEP, and Group 3: GIC containing 50% EEP), teeth were immersed in 2% methylene blue solution for 24 hours, sectioned and examined under stereomicroscope. 2. Microhardness test: 8 specimens from each group (GIC, GIC 25% EEP, and GIC 50% EEP) were prepared using a mold of six mm in diameter and two mm in thickness. The hardness of the specimens was measured using Vickers Micro-hardness Tester. Results: There was no statistically significant difference in the microleakage scores between the three groups (p=0.34).The Microhardness values of the present study showed that GIC with 25% EEP showed significantly higher values than both the conventional GIC and GIC with 50% EEP (p 0.05) Conclusion: The addition of EEP to GIC in either (25%, 50%) did not affect the microleakage of GIC. Addition of 25% EEP increased the microhardness of the GIC while the addition of 50% EEP did not affect the microhardness of GIC