Microleakage of two fluoride-releasing sealants when applied following saliva contamination.

The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate microleakage of two fluoride-releasing sealants in saliva contaminated and non-contaminated conditions. Twenty-four human third molars were randomly assigned to two groups: saliva contaminated and saliva non-contaminated teeth. In the contaminated group, the teeth were contaminated with 0.02 ml artificial saliva for 20 seconds and blowed dry afterward. Each group was divided into two subgroups: Group A, a fluoride-releasing resin sealant marketed as Clinpro and Group B, a glass-ionomer sealant marketed as Fuji VII. After sealant application, all the teeth were thermocycled for 2,000 cycles and coated with nail varnish 1.0 mm from the sealed areas. The teeth were stained with 2% methylene blue dye for 24 hours and sectioned in the bucco-lingual direction. Dye penetration (microleakage) was examined with a 25x polarized light microscope and measured by a computerized-calculated method. Data were compared with the Mann-Whitney U test at significance level of p<0.05. A comparison of the two types of sealant revealed microleakage of the glass-ionomer sealant was present but there was no significant difference between the saliva contaminated and saliva non-contaminated teeth. Microleakage of the fluoride-releasing resin sealant was present and was greater among the saliva-contaminated teeth than the saliva non-contaminated teeth. The glass-ionomer sealant had significantly greater microleakage than the fluoride-relasing resin-based sealant in both the saliva-contaminated and saliva non-contaminated teeth.