Comparison of glass-ionomer and resin-based fissure sealants: a 2-year clinical trial.

In recent years, the interest in the use of glass-ionomer materials as fissure sealants has increased. The aim of this study was to compare the retention and caries-preventive effect of glass-ionomer (Fuji III) and resin-based light-cured (Delton) fissure sealants. Three health center dentists applied the sealants to 166 children; glass-ionomer sealants on one side and resin-based sealants on the contralateral side of the mouth. After 2 yr, one pair of molar teeth in the mouths of 151 children was compared. Twenty-six percent of glass-ionomer and 82% of resin-based sealants were totally present (P < 0.001). During the 2 yr, in both groups 4.6% of the sealed surfaces became carious. The results show that the retention of glass-ionomer sealants is markedly inferior to the resin-based sealants. In this study, however, no difference in caries increment on the sealed surfaces was observed. This may be due to the different mechanism of caries prevention for the sealant materials, or to the overall low caries activity of the participants.