Retention of resin-based pit and fissure sealants: A systematic review

The aim of the present study was to perform a systematic review on the retention of resin-based sealants (RBSs) according to the material used and the clinical procedure. An electronic search in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane library and SCOPUS was completed by a hand search in conference proceedings. One hundred and twenty-four studies were identified, 31 of which were included. The retention rate of auto-polymerized and light-cured RBSs did not differ significantly. Light-cured RBSs had a significantly higher retention rate than fluoride-containing light-cured RBSs at 48 months (RR = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.72-0.89) and more. Concerning the clinical procedure, the scarcity of well-conducted studies made judgement difficult, except for the isolation stage. If using a rubber dam did not affect retention of auto-polymerized RBSs, it did for fluoride-containing light-cured RBSs (RR = 2.03, 95% CI: 1.51-2.73).