The effect of different enamel surface treatments on the microleakage of fissure sealants

• Published in: Lasers in medical science Vol. 27; no. 1; pp. 153 - 160
• Main Authors: Baygin, Ozgul, Korkmaz, Fatih Mehmet, Tüzüner, Tamer, Tanriver, Mehmet
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Springer-Verlag 01.01.2012; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Abrasion; Abrasion resistance; Acid Etching, Dental - methods; Air Abrasion, Dental - methods; Cracks; Dental Cavity Preparation - methods; Dental Enamel - drug effects; Dental Enamel - radiation effects; Dental Leakage; Dentistry; Enamel; Enamels; Etching; Humans; Lasers; Lasers, Solid-State; Leakage; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Molar - drug effects; Molar - radiation effects; Optical Devices; Optics; Original Article; Phosphoric Acids - therapeutic use; Photonics; Pit and Fissure Sealants; Quantum Optics; Scanning electron microscopy; Sealers; Sealing compounds; Teeth; Fissure sealant; Etching; Microleakage; CoJet Prep; Er,Cr:YSGG laser; Fissurotomy bur
• ISSN: 0268-8921; 1435-604X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10103-011-0918-x

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of different techniques of surface treatment on the microleakage of a fissure sealant in molar teeth. A total of 50 freshly extracted noncarious human third molars were randomly assigned to one of five groups. Occlusal fissures were treated with one of the following: acid etching with 35% orthophosphoric acid (group 1); fissurotomy with a Fissurotomy Micro NTF metal bur (group 2); laser etching with an Er,Cr:YSGG laser at 2 W and 20 Hz (group 3); laser etching with an Er,Cr:YSGG laser at 2 W and 40 Hz (group 4); and air abrasion for 20 s with 30-µm Al 2 O 3 particles via a CoJet Prep device (group 5). After surface pretreatment, a resin-based sealant was applied to the fissures. The sample teeth were subjected to thermocycling and stored in distilled water at 37°C for 1 month. Following immersion in 0.5% basic fuchsin solution for 24 h, three buccolingual slices of each sample tooth were scored under a stereomicroscope, and the morphological appearance of the area between the enamel surface and fissure sealant was examined under a scanning electron microscope. The Kruskal-Wallis test and one-way ANOVA revealed significant differences in marginal leakage, as follows: group 1 showed significantly lower scores than groups 2 and 5, the scores of groups 1, 3 and 4 were not significantly different, and group 2 showed significantly higher scores than groups 3 and 4. Laser irradiation, the metal bur, and the CoJet Prep device did not eliminate the need for acid etching of the enamel prior to placement of a fissure sealant. Laser etching at 2 W (20 Hz or 40 Hz) may be an alternative to conventional acid-etching.