To gain more insight into the consequences of curing contraction within the tooth cavity, we assessed the margin behavior of 12 contemporary restorative systems in class V restorations with margins located on enamel and dentin after mechanical loading and water storage. Mixed class V cavities were prepared on extracted human molars and restored using five etch and rinse and seven self-etch adhesive systems with their corresponding composites. Marginal adaptation was evaluated by using a computer-assisted quantitative marginal analysis in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) on epoxy replicas before, after thermal and mechanical stressing and after 1 year of water storage. The interactions of "testing conditions", "adhesive-composite combination" and "tooth substrate" with "marginal adaptation" were evaluated by two-way ANOVA. Fatigue, stress and storage conditions had significant effects on the marginal adaptation. Only two groups (Optibond FL and G Bond) presented equal percentages of marginal adaptation on enamel and dentin; in the other groups, the rate of degradation was product dependent. All materials tested showed a distinct behavior on enamel and dentin. In addition to mechanical resistance and long-term stability, differences within materials also exist in their ability to simultaneously bond to enamel and dentin.