Effect of Enamel Pretreatment Using Er,Cr:YSGG Laser Irradiation on Micro-shear Bond Strength of a Self-etch Fissure Sealant.

Abstract

Fissure sealant application is an efficient method for dental caries prevention. Self-etch fissure sealants (SE-FS) eliminate the separate etching step for bonding. The present study investigated the micro-shear bond strength (μSBS) of a SE-FS (Prevent seal®, Itena©, Paris, France) to enamel pretreated with different methods including Er,Cr:YSGG laser, under noncontaminated and saliva-contaminated conditions. Sixty human premolars were sectioned into halves and randomly assigned into two groups of saliva-contaminated and noncontaminated. Each group was further divided into six subgroups (N = 10) of different enamel pretreatment methods: (Laser+SE-FS), (Acid-etch+SE-FS), (Laser+Acid-etch+SE-FS), (Mechanical preparation+SE-FS), (SE-FS), and (Acid-etch+Bonding+Conventional fissure sealant) as positive control. The μSBS of the sealant material to enamel was measured in all subgroups. The two-way ANOVA and Tukey tests were applied at P < 0.05. Saliva contamination had a significant effect on μSBS (P < 0.001), while pretreatment with laser or acid etching did not significantly affect the μSBS (P = 0.251). The μSBS of SE-FS to untreated enamel surface was significantly lower than the positive control (P = 0.035). The μSBS value in the subgroup receiving laser+etching+SE-FS was significantly higher than the remaining five subgroups (P < 0.001). Other pairwise comparisons were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Acid-etch and Er,Cr:YSGG laser exert a synergic effect on μSBS of Prevent Seal®, irrespective of saliva contamination.