Performance of Bioactive, Fluoride-Releasing, and Conventional Pit and Fissure Sealants: Effect of Enamel Conditioning via phosphoric acid and Er, Cr: YSGG laser in Primary Teeth
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.42.6.15798Keywords:
Er, Cr: YSGG laser, Dentin bonding, Bond integrity, fissure morphology; fissure sealants; RMGIC; flowable resin; scanning electron microscopy.Abstract
Objective: To investigate the influence of two enamel surface conditioning techniques, i.e., 37% phosphoric acid (PA) etching and Er, Cr: YSGG laser (ECL) conditioning, on microleakage and micro tensile bond strength (μTBS) of conventional, fluoride-releasing, and bioactive pit and fissure sealants (PFS) applied to primary molars enamel.
Methodology: The study lasted two months, from 1st December 2025 to 1st February 2026. A total of ninety caries-free primary mandibular molars with preshedding mobility and indicated for extraction were selected. Teeth exhibiting developmental enamel defects, occlusal caries, existing restorations, or signs of attrition or erosion were excluded from the study. The teeth were arbitrarily assigned to two groups according to the enamel conditioning protocol (n=45): Group-1: PA and Group-2: ECL. Each experimental group was subdivided into three subgroups according to the PFS used (n=15). Subgroup A: Conventional PFS, Subgroup B: Fluoride-releasing PFS, and Subgroup C: Bioactive sealant. Microleakage was evaluated in five samples from each subgroup. Sixty sealed molars were longitudinally sectioned for micro tensile bond strength testing. Statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test for multiple comparisons, p<0.05.
Results: The highest marginal leakage was recorded in Group-2A (ECL + Conventional PFS) (30.54 ± 0.42), with the lowest bond strength (7.01 ± 0.75 MPa). In contrast, the lowest marginal leakage was observed in Group 1C (PA + Bioactive PFS), with the highest bond strength (11.52 ± 0.43 MPa).
Conclusion: Fluoride-releasing and bioactive pit and fissure sealants demonstrated significantly superior performance compared to conventional sealants. Additionally, enamel pretreatment with either phosphoric acid or an Er:Cr:YSGG laser yielded comparable bond strength and marginal leakage.
