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The standard techniques used for amalgam restorations often result in a lack of adhesion to mineralized dental tissues. The bonding of amalgam with polymer has been suggested to improve its adaptation to dental tissues. Moreover the polymer involved in the bonding should inhibit the corrosion and the diffusion of metallic ions. The aim of this study was to evaluate in vitro the capacity of bonded amalgam to prevent ionic diffusion and migration. In this respect, an original method employing electrochemical techniques was used to determine the leakage current of bonded amalgam restorations. The electrochemical behaviour of conventional and bonded amalgam restorations was compared using a potentiostat driven by a computerized system (Voltamaster, Radiometer Analytical) with software for specific applications such as chronoamperometry or cyclic voltammetry. Samples of recently extracted teeth of young patients were first examined, and then the results were checked by other experimental assays using protected and unprotected copper sticks. The measurements obtained with chronoamperometry (E = +300 mV/SCE) in Ringer's solution at 37 degrees C showed that after polarization for 30 h the oxidation current decreased threefold for bonded samples (10 microA cm(-2)) as compared with the unprotected samples (35 microA cm(-2)). These results, as well as those obtained with the copper wires, demonstrated that even with two layers of adhesive the bonded joint is permeable to ions probably as a result of the hydrophylic properties of HEMA, a component of the adhesive. However, using five layers of adhesive reduced the ionic current by a factor as large as 10(6).