One-year clinical evaluation of the retention of resin and glass ionomer sealants on permanent first molars in children

Aim: To compare the retention of glass ionomer cement (GIC) used as fissure sealant with a resinbased sealant. Methods: Six- to nine-year-old children (n=96) with all permanent first molars in occlusion were examined and assigned to two groups: GIC sealant or resin-based sealant. The sealants were applied according to the manufacturers’ recommendations. The assessment of sealant retention was performed at two-month interval sessions (n=6), when each sample was scored according to the following criteria: complete retention, partial retention or complete loss. The visual and tactile examinations were carried out with a WHO probe, mouth mirror, air syringe and artificial light. The data were submitted to descriptive statistics and survival analysis. Results: A total of 384 occlusal surfaces were analyzed. Independent of the tooth and evaluation time, slightly better results were achieved by the resin-based sealant, but the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusions: GIC and resin-based sealants achieved similar results with regards to retention during a one-year follow-up period.