title: Frequency of remnants of sealants left behind in pits and fissures of occlusal surfaces after 2 and 3 years.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The null-hypothesis tested was that there was no difference in the frequency of remnants of high-viscosity glass-ionomer sealants left behind in pits and fissures of occlusal surfaces of first permanent molars and that of resin composite and glass-carbomer sealants.
  
  
  METHODS
  Based on the results of a sealant trial, a sample of sealed teeth from which the material had apparently completely disappeared from at least one of the three sections into which the occlusal surface was divided, assessed through visible clinical examination, was also assessed from images of colour photographs and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) as the reference image. The sample size consisted of 112 and 120 teeth from 59 and 98 children at evaluation years 2 and 3 respectively. Two examiners performed the assessments. Fisher's Exact Test was applied to test for the differences between the dependent variable and the sealant groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The remnants of sealant material left in the deeper parts of pits and fissures were assessed from colour photograph and SEM images in five sections at year 2 and in eight sections at year 3. The assessment found no sealant group effect.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The frequency of remnants of glass-ionomer sealant in pits and fissures of occlusal surfaces in first permanent molars is not higher than the frequency of glass-carbomer and resin sealants after 2 and 3 years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Contrary to the current assumption, there appears to be no significant difference in the frequency of remnants left behind in pits and fissures between glass-ionomer and resin sealants.
authors.affiliation: The State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Basic Science of Stomatology (Hubei-MOST) & Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedicine Ministry of Education (KLOBM), School and Hospital of Stomatology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430079, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: The State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Basic Science of Stomatology (Hubei-MOST) & Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedicine Ministry of Education (KLOBM), School and Hospital of Stomatology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430079, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: WeiWei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: The State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Basic Science of Stomatology (Hubei-MOST) & Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedicine Ministry of Education (KLOBM), School and Hospital of Stomatology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430079, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: MingWen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Function and Prosthetic Dentistry, College of Dental Sciences, Radboud University Medical Centre, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mulder
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Function and Prosthetic Dentistry, College of Dental Sciences, Radboud University Medical Centre, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Jo.Frencken@radboudumc.nl.
authors.forename: Jo E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Frencken
mesh_terms: D001031:Apatites / Q000737:chemistry; D002648:Child; D003188:Composite Resins / Q000737:chemistry*; D005260:Female; D005899:Glass Ionomer Cements / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008963:Molar; D010895:Pit and Fissure Sealants / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D001031:Apatites; D003188:Composite Resins; D005899:Glass Ionomer Cements; D010895:Pit and Fissure Sealants; C586142:glass carbomer cement
keywords: Glass-carbomer; Glass-ionomer cement; Pits and fissures; Resin composite; Sealant retention