In Vitro Analysis of Hydrophilic and Conventional sealants - A comparative study

Background: According to the World Health Organization, filling up the pits and fissures is one of the most efficient, least invasive ways to completely protect the occlusal surface from the carious phenomena. In vitro tests are essential for quickly delivering the knowledge required about the effectiveness of more recent sealant brands. Consequently, the objective of the current study was to assess and contrast the viscosity and length of resin tags on permanent molars of conventional and hydrophilic sealants. Materials and Methods: Twenty extracted third molars were split into two groups at random, one receiving conventional sealant (Clinpro 3M ESPE), and the other receiving hydrophilic sealant (UltraSeal XT Hydro). Each tooth's occlusal surfaces underwent an acid etchant pretreatment before the appropriate sealants were applied. Afterwards thermocycling and longitudinal sectioning were applied to both groups. For the purpose of measuring the length of the resin tag, the sectioned tooth specimens were examined under a scanning electron microscope. An Anton Paar viscometer was used to measure viscosities. The difference between the mean resin tag length of Group I and Group II sealants was compared using an independent t-test. Results: The mean resin tag length of Group II (10.07+/- 1.01m) was found to be higher than Group I (7.49+/- 0.94m), and this difference was statistically significant (P = 0.001). The viscosity measurements of Groups I and II were determined to be 0.8 mega Pascal (MPa) and 0.6 MPa, respectively. Conclusion: Based on the findings of the current investigation, it can be said that Group II sealants generated resin tags of sufficient length and had lower viscosities than Group I sealants. Thus, a hydrophilic sealant outperformed a conventional sealant in terms of performance.