Microtensile Bond Strength of Bioactive Pit and Fissure Sealants Bonded to Primary and Permanent Teeth

Sealing occlusal pits and fissures is an effective preventive measure against dental caries. Pit and fissure sealants (PFS) should be strongly bonded to the teeth to prevent partial or complete loss of the sealant, which may limit its preventive effect.

The objective of the study was to compare the microtensile bond strength (μTBS) of bioactive resin-based sealants (Bio-RBS) and resin-based sealants (RBS), with and without the use of a bonding agent, to the enamel of primary and permanent teeth.

One hundred and twenty caries-free primary molar specimens and 120 permanent molar specimens were divided to eight groups (30 specimens per group), both primary and permanent teeth were sealed with a Bio-RBS BioCoat^TM (Premier^®, Plymouth Meeting, PA, USA) or with a RBS Clinpro^TM (3M ESPE, Saint Paul, MN, USA), with or without the use of a bonding agent (Prime & Bond NT; Dentsply, Inc., Charlotte, NC, USA). Half the specimens were aged with 5000 thermal cycles, and all specimens were tested for the μTBS and failure mode.

The mean μTBS of aged Bio-RBS was higher in permanent teeth than primary teeth, and the aging process reduced the μTBS of RBS more than that of Bio-RBS. Moreover, the addition of a bonding agent improved the μTBS of aged RBS in permanent teeth.

We concluded that Bio-RBS exhibit superior μTBS than RBS when applied to permanent teeth.