title: Change in occlusal height resulting from placement of pit and fissure sealants.
abstract: This in-vitro study was done to identify the amount of change in occlusal height resulting from standard sealant application technique and to determine whether this change was uniform for both a filled and an unfilled sealant material. Twelve dental hygienists experienced in sealant technique each applied 10 filled sealants and 10 unfilled sealants in standardized artificial teeth mounted in a dentiform and mannikin setup in a dental unit. The teeth were measured with a digital caliper before and after sealant placement. Measurements were from a predetermined point at the apical area of the teeth to the depth of the central fossa. For the sample of 240 teeth, the mean sealant thickness was 0.43 +/- 0.20 mm. When the data for the filled and unfilled sealants were examined separately, the means were 0.47 +/- 0.23 mm and 0.38 +/- 0.16 mm, respectively. A t-test indicated a significant difference at p < 0.001. Analysis of variance revealed significant interoperator differences in sealant thickness (p < 0.01).
authors.affiliation: Department of Dental Hygiene, University of Colorado School of Dentistry, Denver.
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Stach
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Hatch
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Tilliss
authors.forename: G N
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Cross-Poline
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003756:Dental Hygienists; D003766:Dental Occlusion; D006801:Humans; D010895:Pit and Fissure Sealants; D011361:Professional Competence
chemical_list: D010895:Pit and Fissure Sealants