Clinical progress of sealed and unsealed caries. Part II: Standardized radiographs and clinical observations.

At the present time, a trend has been shown that the progress of sealed caries is markedly slowed by sealant therapy as compared to open lesions. This fact has been substantiated by depth measurements, viable bacterial counts, standardized radiographs, and clinical observations. The radiographic and clinical observations agreed with the previously reported two parameters in confirming that (1) sealed cavities showed little or no change in depth and (2) open lesions showed a significant increase in depth as compared to sealed lesions.