Management of fissure caries in the community dental services using sealant restorations: a field trial.

Field trial data two years after the placement of 278 composite or laminate (sandwich) composite sealant restorations by 14 Community Dental Officers, in patients ranging in age from 6 to 16 years, in the West of Scotland, is reported. No restorations were lost and in 76% of the restored teeth, fissure sealant was partly retained. The most common sites of loss of sealant were from the buccal fissures of mandibular molars and from the surface of the restoration. Only 5% of the treated teeth showed complete loss of fissure sealant and the authors considered that after 2 years, 90% of restorations were adequate or only required the simple addition of further fissure sealant.