Comparison of the Retention Rates of Pit and Fissure Sealants Placed on First Permanent Molars Treated with Air Abrasion and Acid Etching: A Split-mouth Randomised Clinical Trial

Introduction: Pit and fissure sealants are a reliable and safe method of occlusal caries prevention. Accurate preconditioning of the enamel surface is essential for long-term sealant retention. Aim: To assess the retention rate of pit and fissure sealants applied to first permanent molars treated with air abrasion and acid etching in children aged 6 to 9 years. Materials and Methods: This split-mouth randomised study was conducted in the Department of Paediatric Dentistry, Vishnu Dental College, Bhimavaram, Andhra Pradesh, India from March 2019 to March 2020. The study included 45 children aged 6-9 years with 180 completely erupted maxillary and mandibular first permanent molars. The children were randomly divided into two groups: Group-I (Air Abrasion) and Group-II (Conventional Acid Etch). After pretreatment of the enamel surface with either air abrasion or acid etching, sealant was applied. Sealant retention was evaluated at 6- and 12-month intervals using Tonn and Ryge’s scoring criteria under a dental operating microscope. Statistical analysis was performed using the Wilcoxon Signedrank Test and the Mann-Whitney U Test. Results: The mean age of the study participants was 7.6±0.5 years at the 12-month interval, complete sealant retention was observed in 23% of teeth in the air abrasion group and 21% in the acid etch group. The p-value of 0.657 indicates that the difference was not statistically significant. The comparison of sealant retention rates in maxillary and mandibular molars treated with both air abrasion (p=0.191, p=0.881) and acid etching (p=1.000, p=0.574) showed no statistically significant differences at both the 6- and 12-month intervals. Conclusion: The retention rate of fissure sealants on enamel surfaces treated with air abrasion was comparable to acid etching. There was no difference in sealant retention rates between maxillary and mandibular molars in both the air abrasion and acid etch groups.