Comparison of the clinical performance of pit and fissure sealants containing either fluoride or amorphous calcium phosphate on permanent first molars.

The objective of this study was to compare the clinical performance of 2 types of pit and fissure sealants--containing either fluoride or amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP)--over a period of 24 months. In this retrospective split-mouth study, 36 fluoride-containing sealants (Clinpro) and 36 ACP-containing sealants (Aegis) were evaluated 24 months after placement in the permanent first molars of 30 children aged 6 to 7 years. The sealants were inspected for retention based on the criteria of Oulis and Berdouses, with scores of 0, 1, and 2 representing total retention, partial loss, and total loss, respectively. In addition, the sealants were assigned scores for marginal integrity, marginal discoloration, and anatomical form based on the criteria of Feigal et al. Differences between groups in the occurrences of each evaluation variable were compared using relative risk with its 95% CI as well as the chi-square or Fisher exact test. The level of significance was set at P = 0.05. The retention success rates of the fluoride and ACP sealants after 24 months were 66.6% and 61.1%, respectively, but the difference was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). The overall clinical success of the fluoride-containing sealant was slightly greater than that of the ACP-containing sealant in terms of marginal discoloration and anatomical form; however, these differences were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). The marginal integrity of the sealant with ACP nanofillers was greater than that of the fluoride-containing sealant, but the difference did not reach statistical significance (P > 0.05). After a 24-month follow-up period, no significant disparities in clinical performance were observed between fluoride- and ACP-containing sealants in terms of retention rates, marginal integrity, marginal discoloration, or anatomical form. The clinical performance of both sealant types was found to be acceptable.