Effects of mechanical and thermal aging on microleakage of different fissure sealants

The purpose of this study was to examine the microleakage of three different fissure sealants after they were aged by mechanical loading and thermocycling in vitro. To this end, a bonding agent (Prime & Bond NT) and three different fissure sealants (Clinpro, Helioseal F, Teethmate F1) were used, whereby microleakage was evaluated using a dye penetration method after mechanical loading and/or thermocycling. Sealant-treated teeth were allocated into four groups: mechanical loading (50,000 times), thermocycling (10,000 times), mechanical loading (50,000 times) + thermocycling (10,000 times), and one control group. For each fissure sealant, both experimental and control groups showed statistically significant differences in average microleakage score (p < 0.05). Further, for each fissure sealant, the highest average microleakage score was obtained in mechanical loading + thermocycling group. When comparison was done for each aging method, the average microleakage scores showed statistically significant differences among the three fissure sealants (p < 0.05). Based on the results of this study, it was also concluded that it is necessary to develop reliable in vitro test methods for dental materials.