Purpose: To compare in vitro marginal leakage and fissure penetration depth of sealants placed under finger pressure (ART) and a ball burnisher.
Methods: High-viscosity glass-ionomer hand-mixed Fuji IX GP and encapsulated Fuji IX GP Fast were used to seal 72 patent occlusal pits and fissures according to the ART approach or with the aid of a ball burnisher in surgically removed molars. All teeth were thermocycled for 500 cycles in water between 6 and 55 degrees C, then varnished until 1 mm from the sealant, submerged in 1% methylene blue for 4 hours, had roots dissected, crowns embedded in epoxy resin and sectioned before examination with a light reflection microscope. Marginal leakage at the enamel-sealant interface and fissure penetration depth was measured on a scale of 0 to 4.
Results: There was no statistically significant difference in marginal leakage (P= 0.62) and fissure penetration depth (P= 0.46) between sealants placed using the application procedures. One of the operators scored statistically significant lower on the marginal leakage and higher on fissure penetration depth in sealants produced using finger pressure than with a ball burnisher (P= 0.01). All nine sealants placed by this operator using finger pressure and encapsulated glass-ionomer showed no marginal leakage. The mean fissure penetration depth of these sealants was 3.6 (SD=0.9).