Effect of Fluoridated Sealants on Adjacent Dentition

Effect of Fluoridated Sealants on Adjacent Dentition

A

double-blind randomized study of children sought to determine whether caries

risk was reduced on unsealed molar surfaces that were adjacent to surfaces

sealed with fluoride-releasing compounds, compared to those adjacent to surfaces

sealed with nonfluoridated materials. Scientists from Italy’s World Health

Organization Collaborating Centre of Milan for Epidemiology and Community

Dentistry and the University of Sassari, along with the University of Gothenburg

in Sweden observed 2,776 children. Each of the 6- and 7-year-old subjects received

one of three sealants—high-viscosity glass ionomer cement; resin-based sealant

with fluoride; or resin-based sealant without fluoride—on sound first molars.  

At

baseline, caries prevalence was flat across the study subjects. A 30-month

follow-up, however, revealed that caries prevalence on the second primary molar

was lowest among those participants who received a high-viscosity glass ionomer

cement or resin-based sealant with fluoride on the primary first molar. The

results were published in the paper, “Effect of

Trial,”

published online in May by the Journal of

Dental Research. 

While

caries risk is impacted by myriad factors, including oral hygiene, diet, and

access to dental care, results of the study led researchers to conclude that

high-viscosity glass ionomer cement and resin-based sealant with fluoride offer

the most protection from dental caries—not only to the tooth on which they are

placed, but also to dentition in closest proximity to the sealed tooth. Further

exploration of this association is warranted.  

Hygiene Connection E-Newsletter

June 2014