Retention of moisture-tolerant fluoride-releasing sealant and amorphous calcium phosphate-containing sealant in 6-9-year-old children: A randomized controlled trial.

CONTEXT

Pits and fissures of teeth have been recognized as the most susceptible areas for initiation of caries. The ability of the resin sealant to thoroughly fill pits, fissures, and/or morphological defects and remain completely intact and bonded to enamel surface is the primary basis for its caries prevention.

AIM

The present study evaluated and compared the retention rates and development of caries in permanent molars of children sealed with amorphous calcium phosphate-containing (Aegis™) and moisture-tolerant fluoride-releasing (Embrace WetBond™) sealant over a period of 1 year.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN

This was a double-blind, split-mouth, randomized controlled trial among children aged 6-9 years.

METHODS

Sixty-eight permanent mandibular first molars in 34 children were randomly assigned to be sealed with Aegis™ or Embrace Wetbond™ sealant. The follow-up examinations were conducted at 3, 6, and 12 months for evaluating the retention and development of caries.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

SPSS version 16.0 was used for the analysis. Within-group comparison of retention and development of caries at 3, 6, and 12 months was evaluated using the Friedman's test.

RESULTS

The final sample was 32 children with 64 teeth. At 12 months, 23 of 32 (72%) sealants were completely retained in Aegis™, whereas 21 of 32 (65.6%) were retained in Embrace Wetbond™ group. There was no significant difference in the retention rates of Aegis™ and Embrace Wetbond™ sealants at 12 months (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Aegis™ was superior to Embrace Wetbond™ sealant as Aegis™ exhibited higher retention and lower caries scores.