Compressive Strength of Three Types of Pit and Fissure Sealants (An in-Vitro Comparative Study)

Abstract

This research presents an experimental and theoretical investigation of compressive strength and stress distribution of three different types of pit and fissure sealants (PFS). The PFS had been divided into three major categories, i.e. resin-modified glass-ionomer (RMGI), resin-based PFS, and compomer Sealant, for each given type, commercial brands photac fil quick aplicap (3M ESPE), ultraseal XT hydro (Ultradent), and compoglass F (Ivoclar Vivadent) have been selected, respectively. Thirty samples, which were divided into three groups (ten specimens for each PFS type) were loaded in compression until failure. The SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Science) version 23 program was used to perform the statistical analysis and assess the difference between the compressive strength of each study group. The results of the experiment showed that the compressive strength of the resin-based PFS overcomes the RMGI and compomer sealant by 116% and 30% respectively. By using ABAQUS program performed the 3D finite element model (consisting 13050 elements and 14508 nodes) to evaluate the effect of chemical composition on the compressive strength of the PFS and compared stresses with the experimental results. The results of the analysis of these two methods showed that the vertical stress values differ even by 100% at stress concentration zones. This research showed that the filler fraction and particle size and uniformity of the filler distribution are the main determining factor affecting the compressive strength of PFS.