One-year Survival of Fissure Sealants in Immature Permanent Molars

Dental caries remains one of the most prevalent oral diseases today. The risk of caries development is highest during the first few years following tooth eruption. Therefore, preventive strategies for dental caries continue to be of great importance. In particular, permanent second molars are highly susceptible to caries during their eruption phase, as the enamel has not yet completed its physiological maturation. This vulnerability is especially pronounced in partially erupted teeth, where the risk of caries formation increases significantly in the absence of effective preventive measures. In this context, fissure sealants are widely used as a preventive approach, particularly in children and adolescents, due to their proven efficacy in caries prevention. In this study, the 12-month clinical performance of resin-based hydrophilic and glass ionomer-based fissure sealants applied to partially erupted permanent first and/or second molars will be evaluated comparatively. Informed consent will be obtained from all participants prior to their inclusion in the study. The aim of this research is to provide scientific evidence to support material selection in the field of preventive dentistry. Previous studies (Ahovuo-Saloranta et al., 2013) have emphasized that long-term clinical success rates have a direct impact on material selection, highlighting the importance of conducting prospective clinical trials. This study is designed as a split-mouth, double-blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial. The reporting of the study will adhere to the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) guidelines. The study will be conducted at the Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, İnönü University. Healthy children aged between 7 and 15 years will be included in the study. Randomization will be performed using a computer-assisted program. Two different fissure sealants will be applied to different teeth in each patient. Application Procedure: All fissure sealants will be applied by a single experienced operator in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. Resin-based sealants will be polymerized for 20 seconds using an LED light source. Group A: Hydrophilic fissure sealant Group B: Glass ionomer-based fissure sealant Evaluation Time Points: Immediately after application At 3 months At 6 months At 12 months The following parameters will be assessed by two independent blinded evaluators according to modified USPHS criteria: Retention of the fissure sealant (Complete / Partial / Total loss) Marginal discoloration Development of secondary caries Data will be entered into Microsoft Excel and analyzed using SPSS software. A p-value of \< 0.05 will be considered statistically significant.

NCT Number	NCT07143253
Lead Sponsor	Handan Vural
Conditions	Evaluation of the Survival of Different Fissure Sealants in Partially Erupted Immature Molar Teeth at Various Eruption Stages
Enrollment	40 participants
Start Date	2025-09-10
Primary Completion	2026-02-08 (estimated)
Study Completion	2027-03 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-04-23