effect of different enamel preparation methods on microleakage of fissure sealant: an in vitro study

objective: lack of a dental material with optimal adhesion and sealability is an important challenge in modern dentistry leading to marginal leakage. there are controversies on the necessity of enamel preparation in pit and fissure sealant therapy and its effect on decreasing the microleakage therefore, the present in vitro study aimed to assess the amount of microleakage with and without enamel preparation. methods: in this experimental study, 30 sound premolars assigned suitable for sealant application, were chosen and randomly divided into two groups. sealant was applied to all teeth with the same conventional technique. in group a, fissure sealant was applied without enamel preparation while in group b, sealant was applied after fissurotomy with bur. the teeth were thermocycled and microleakage was measured using silver nitrate as leakage tracer. the teeth were then cut into three bucco-lingual sections and examined under a stereomicroscope with 32× magnification. the amount of dye penetration into the sealant was recorded in microns and the degree of microleakage was classified into four degrees of 0, 1, 2 and 3. t-test was applied for the comparison of data between the two groups. results: in total,20% of specimens in group b (fissurotomy) had degree 1 and 80% had degree 0microleakage and no specimen had degrees 2 and 3 microleakage, while in group a (no preparation), 20% had degree 1, 33.3% had degree 2 and 46.7% had degree 3microleakage. no specimen had degree 0 microleakage. therefore, placement of sealant with enamel preparation significantly decreased microleakage (p<0.001). conclusion: in view of the findings of this investigation, it seems that enamel preparation reduces marginal leakage in pit and fissure sealant therapy.