Comparative Efficacy in Preventing Plaque Formation around Pit and Fissure Sealants: A Clinical Trial

Abstract

AIM: The purpose of this study is to compare the clinical performance of an organo-selenium-containing pit and fissure sealant with that of a selenium-free sealant for clinical retention and prevention of plaque and caries development around the sealants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: study confirming the antimicrobial effect of an organo-selenium-containing pit/fissure sealant [DenteShield™ (DS)], 120 adolescents (7-20 years old) at varying caries risk status had DS sealant applied to a single tooth on the left or the right side of the dentition and UltraSeal™ XT Plus (UXT) on a corresponding tooth on the opposite side. Sealants' assessment was performed quarterly for 1 year for clinical retention, plaque, and caries formation around the sealant. Each sealant lost was replaced but considered as a failure in further analysis. McNemar's test was used to statistically analyze the outcome variables at each assessment time point. RESULTS: < 0.001) better retention (96%) than UXT (81%). CONCLUSION: In this study, while both sealants are equally effective in caries prevention, DS completely prevented plaque growth around it with better clinical retention than UXT that offered only limited protection against plaque growth. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Being antimicrobial, DS pit and fissure sealant may be the best sealant option for patients whose caries risk status is due to poor oral hygiene.