Clinical Evaluation of Retention in Hydrophobic and Hydrophillic Pit and Fissure Sealants-A Two Year Follow-Up Study

Objectives: The present in vivo study is done to compare and evaluate the retention of the traditional hydrophobic pit and fissure sealant with a hydrophilic resin-based sealant on first permanent molars and to compare the sealant retention in maxillary and mandibular first permanent molars. Materials and Methods: In this randomized clinical trial 212 permanent first molars from 76 subjects are considered in this study. Out of which 106 right side upper & lower first molars were sealed with Delton FS (Group I) and the remaining 106 left side upper & lower first molars were sealed with Embrace Wet Bond sealant (Group II). Clinical evaluation by both visual and tactile examination was carried out -immediately after sealant application, at 1,6,12,18 and 24 months using Simonsen’s criteria. Results: At the end of two years 67.9% of permanent molars of group II showed completely retained sealants compared to 45.3% of permanent molars of group I. Conspicuously 56.6% upper teeth in group II retained sealant, whereas only 17% of upper teeth retained sealant in group I and is statistically significant (p=0.01). Conclusion: It can be concluded that hydrophilic sealant may be used as effective pit and fissure sealants especially in children with high risk of caries, excessive salivation, mentally and physically challenged, very young children, uncooperative child and partially erupted molars and community care programs.