Microbial microleakage assessment of a new hydrophilic fissure sealant: a laboratory study.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare microbial leakage of a new hydrophilic sealant with that of a conventional hydrophobic resin-based sealant.

Methods: One hundred extracted, caries-free, human maxillary premolars were randomly divided into five groups. Those in Groups 1, 2, and 3 had dry, wet, and artificial saliva-contaminated occlusal surfaces, respectively, and were sealed with a hydrophilic sealant, while those in Groups 4 and 5 had dry and wet occlusal surfaces, respectively, and were sealed with a hydrophobic sealant. A newly designed microbial penetration method utilizing Streptococcus mutans as an indicator was tested for leakage assessment. Data were analyzed using SPSS 15.0 software, and the significance level was set at α=0.05.

Results: The log rank test indicated a statistically significant difference in leakage rates among the five groups. Mantel-Cox log-rank test findings showed that Group 3 had the highest leakage rate, with Groups 2 and 4 having the lowest. There was no statistically significant difference in leakage rate between Groups 2 and 4.

Conclusions: With respect to the limitations of an in vitro study, our findings suggest that hydrophilic sealants are an acceptable alternative to hydrophobic sealants.