Evaluation of pumice, fissure enameloplasty and air abrasion on sealant microleakage.

Purpose: The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate microleakage of pit and fissure sealants after using three different pit and fissure preparation techniques: (1) traditional pumice prophylaxis and acid etching, (2) fissure enameloplasty and acid etching and (3) air abrasion and acid etching.

Methods: Sixty extracted third molars with no clinical evidence of caries were randomly divided into 3 groups of 20 each. Teeth were prepared using 1 of 3 occlusal surface treatments prior to placement of Delton opaque light-cured sealant. The teeth were thermocycled between 5 +/- 2 degrees C and 55 +/- 2 degrees C for 500 cycles with a dwell time of 30 seconds and then stored in 0.9% normal saline. All teeth were sealed apically and coated within 1.5 mm of the sealant margin with two layers of nail varnish. The teeth were immersed in a 1% solution of methylene blue for 24 hours to allow dye penetration into possible gaps between enamel and sealant. Three buccolingual cuts parallel to the long axis of the tooth were made yielding 4 sections and 6 surfaces per tooth for analysis. The surfaces were scored 0 to 3 for extent of microleakage using a binocular microscope at 25X magnification.

Results: Kruskal-Wallis and t tests revealed no significant difference in microleakage between the 3 fissure preparation methods prior to sealant placement.

Conclusions: Neither air abrasion nor enameloplasty followed by acid etching produced significantly less microleakage than the traditional pumice prophylaxis with acid etching technique.