Pit and Fissure Sealants—A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

Even in the 21st century, dental caries is considered a global burden, severely upsetting the health and quality of life of those affected. Apart from the usage of fluoride and regular oral hygiene, one of the most important prophylactic approaches against the occurrence of caries is the sealing of pits and fissures. However, the rapid progress of new materials and applications for sealing pits and fissures also raises new questions about their correct application. Recent literature on pit and fissure sealing, caries prevention, as well as caries risk assessment for both children and adults was reviewed. This report provides a general overview of pit and fissure sealing, the materials used for sealing occlusal surfaces, as well as indications and possible side effects. The conclusions are that sealing pit and fissures of primary and permanent teeth is an effective method for preventing and arresting caries. However, regular checkups must be conducted to avoid advanced tooth decay attributable to leakages in the sealing.

Pit and fissure sealants penetration capacity and their correlation with fissure morphology

“…Caries is regarded as a 'non-communicable' and 'behavioral' disease of the oral cavity. Decay initiation involves net demineralization of the dental hard tissue, which occurs because of pH imbalance or acidity-facilitated cariogenic bacteria in the presence of fermentable sugars [3,10].…”

“…Dental sealants appear to be a costeffective intervention; sealing permanent molars reduces the total cost by preventing the need for more expensive and invasive restorative treatment. The use of sealants should be selective, based on the child's caries risk and fissures anatomy [3].…”

Imagistic Analysis of Dental Adhesives Loaded with Nanoparticles Used on Teeth Sealing of Pits and Fissures with Resin Based Materials

“…Dental caries are still considered a condition that affects the quality of life and health of the affected person. One of the most important measures for preventing caries, besides rigorous hygiene and the use of fluoride, can be considered sealing the pits and fissures on the surface of the teeth with dental sealants [1].…”

Avaliação dos selantes resinosos e oinoméricos sob diferentes condições de isolamento do campo operatório aplicados por estudantes de graduação de odontologia - Acompanhamento clínico de 12 meses

“…A conformação anatômica das fossas fissuras do esmalte, associadas à dificuldade de higienização, facilita o acúmulo de biofilme cariogênico em sítios retentivos (Bruzda-Zwiech et al, 2015;Himida et al, 2017). Nessas situações, a aplicação de selantes de fóssulas e fissuras, principalmente em pacientes jovens, têm demonstrado bons resultados na prevenção e na paralização das lesões de cárie (Chen et al, 2012;Wright et al, 2016;Chestnutt et al, 2017;Cvikl et al, 2018).…”

“…utilizados isoladamente não constituem medida preventiva eficaz (Bayrak et al, 2010;Poggio et al, 2016). Estão indicados em pacientes jovens com alto risco e atividade de cárie, com presença de lesões de cárie ativa, superfícies retentivas de biofilme, principalmente nas faces oclusais dos dentes posteriores (Wright et al, 2016;Cvikl et al, 2018;Brons-Piche et al, 2019).…”