Clinical Performance of Bioglass‐Enriched Resin Modified Glass Ionomer in Sealing Moderate Carious Lesions: An 18‐Month Split‐Mouth Clinical Trial

Dental materials with the potential for caries progression prevention have been an attractive alternative to minimally invasive treatments. OBJECTIVES: This randomized controlled split-mouth clinical trial aimed to assess, after 18 months, the retention, restoration quality, and caries progression or arrestment of active moderate carious lesions (International Caries Detection and Assessment System [ICDAS] 3-4) sealed with resin-modified glass ionomer cement (RMGIC) and 45S5 bioglass-enriched RMGIC (RMGIC/45S5). METHODOLOGY: A total of 52 molars with occlusal caries (ICDAS 3-4) were selected. For this split-mouth clinical trial, the permanent molars without mechanical preparation were randomly sealed with RMGIC or RMGIC/45S5. After 18 months, the restorations were compared with the initial treatment (baseline) regarding retention, quality of the remaining material (anatomical shape, marginal adaptation, surface texture, and marginal discoloration), and clinical/radiographic caries progression. The Wilcoxon and Fisher's exact tests were used for data evaluation. RESULTS: After 18 months, no statistically significant differences were found in the retention and material quality of teeth treated with RMGIC or RMGIC/45S5 (p > 0.05). The clinical and radiographic evaluations showed no statistical difference between the materials when considering caries arrestment and progression (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The addition of 45S5 bioglass to RMGIC did not change the retention, restoration quality, and caries progression or arrestment levels after 18 months of follow-up.