title: Penetration of a light-cured glass ionomer and a resin sealant into occlusal fissures and etched enamel.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the penetration of a light-cured glass ionomer and a resin sealant into occlusal fissures and etched enamel.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-eight maxillary and mandibular caries-free premolars scheduled for extraction for orthodontic reasons were isolated, the occlusal surfaces subjected to prophylaxis and acid-etched with orthophosphoric acid prior to the application of the VariGlass VLC glass ionomer and Concise resin sealants. The teeth were extracted, two longitudinal median sectiors from each tooth were ground to a thickness of 80-100 microns, and the sealant penetration into the fissures evaluated. The sections were placed in nitric acid to dissolve the enamel so the lengths of the tags which had penetrated into the etched enamel could be measured at different sites on the walls of the fissures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both sealants adapted well to the fissures but penetrated deeper into shallow, open fissures than into deep, constricted fissures. The VariGlass VLC tags into etched enamel were generally longer than the Concise projections.
authors.affiliation: Disciplina de Odontopediatria, Faculdade de Odontologia de Aracatuba-UNESP, Brazil.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Percinoto
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Cunha
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Delbem
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aragones
mesh_terms: D000180:Acrylic Resins / Q000737:chemistry; D000293:Adolescent; D001641:Bicuspid; D017438:Bisphenol A-Glycidyl Methacrylate / Q000737:chemistry; D002648:Child; D003750:Dental Fissures / Q000628:therapy*; D018772:Dental Marginal Adaptation; D005899:Glass Ionomer Cements / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D010895:Pit and Fissure Sealants / Q000737:chemistry; D014783:Viscosity
chemical_list: D000180:Acrylic Resins; D005899:Glass Ionomer Cements; D010895:Pit and Fissure Sealants; C081982:VariGlass VLC; D017438:Bisphenol A-Glycidyl Methacrylate