The purpose of this study was to evaluate microleakage and antimicrobial efficiency of two pit and fissure sealants, SeLECT Defense® and Ultra Seal XT Plus.
Methods: Intact human premolars were selected for the microleakage test and assigned randomly to two groups (n=20) according to the sealant used. After sealants application, the specimens were thermocycled then subjected to silver nitrate staining. Thin sections were obtained from each specimen, photo-developed then observed with polarizing light microscope. Microleakage was assessed according to a (0-4) scoring method where 0 indicated no leakage and 4 indicating most leakage to the base of the fissures. For evaluation of antimicrobial efficiency, tooth specimens were obtained from intact human molars and treated with Select Defense sealant (Group A), Ultra Seal XT Plus (Group B), while tooth specimens in Group C were left as control (n=20). Bacterial viability was evaluated after 24h, 48h, 72h and 96h, and was conducted by staining the adherent plaque with live/dead bacterial stain then observed with confocal laser scanning microscopy. Data obtained from microleakage and bacterial viability testes were analyzed using one-way ANOVA, Chi-square tests and Yuen-Welch tests (α=0.05).
Results: Microleakage scores were significantly lower with SeLECT Defense compared to Ultra Seal XT Plus (p<0.01). Analysis of bacterial viability data indicated both sealants tested showed significantly lower live/dead ratios means compared to the control group at 24h. The difference was not as significant after 96h of incubation.
Conclusion: The results of the current study indicate that both sealants tested show an antimicrobial efficiency that is more marked at 24h, nevertheless SeLECT Defense sealant could have a lower chance of failing due to microleakage compared to Ultra Seal XT Plus sealant.