Retention of a fluoride-releasing sealant compared with its non-fluoride analogue: interim results of a clinical study after an average of eight months.

OBJECTIVE

To compare the retention of a fluoride-releasing sealant with its non-fluoride analogue in a school-based sealant program.

METHODOLOGY

A total of 294, second- and third-grade students, in two schools, were divided within school into two sealant groups; those with Delton and those with its fluoride analogue, Delton Plus. Subjects had one or more pit-and-fissure sites on occlusal or buccal-lingual surfaces of six-year molars suitable for sealant application. Two examiners identified sealable sites as those that were sound or had incipient decay, and were sufficiently erupted for sealant application. Dental students sealed identified sites under faculty supervision. The mean follow-up time between sealant placement and interim exams was eight months in both groups.

RESULTS

A total of 256 subjects were present for interim exams. Percentages of subjects fully retaining sealants on none of the occlusal sites in the F and non-F groups were 7.0% and 10.8%, and for buccal-lingual sites, 54.6% and 57.0%, respectively. The mean subjectwise proportions of fully retained sealants on occlusal sites were 70.8% for F, and 63.2% for non-F groups; corresponding mean scores for buccal-lingual sites were 28.0% for F, and 27.7% for non-F groups. None of the results of retention by percentage of subjects (Chi-square test) or by mean percent of sites per subject (ANOVA test) was statistically significant at the alpha level of 0.05.

CONCLUSION

Interim results comparing fluoride and non-fluoride sealants suggest meaningful and comparable levels of full retention for occlusal sites, whereas for buccal-lingual sites, full retention was poor for both types of sealants. Partially retained sealants, when included in the data analyses, offered mixed interpretation as to outcome of sealant "success" or "failure".