Evaluation of a no-rinse enamel conditioning prior to sealant application: an in vitro study of comparison to traditional etching technique.

Moisture contamination is a major factor in sealant application, often determining clinical success or failure. A new enamel conditioner using HNO3 (2.5%) has been introduced that does not require a water rinse after etching. The aim of this study is to compare etching characteristics using sealant retention from shear bond strength tests for traditional etch conditioning using H3PO4 (37%) and the HNO3 (2.5%) conditioner with and without a water rinse. We used 28 crown-intact extracted human teeth. We evaluated eight shear bond strength tests per group, on cylindrical sealant stubs (3.24 mm diameter x 3 mm height) for 12 groups (three etch conditions, two prophylactic methods, and two enamel surface type). The highest mean values of shear bond strength of 22.0 MPa was measured for H3PO4, and the lowest of 12.7 MPa for HNO3 (2.5%) without water wash. No significant differences (P < 0.05) were found between water rinse and air blast post-treatment groups after HNO3 conditioning.