A literature review on moisture resistant pit and fissure sealants

Preventive approaches in dentistry have focused on the factors to prevent the initiation of caries and to arrest them in case of incipient or early caries lesion. The most common preventive approaches include inhouse and professionally applied topical fluorides and resin based pit and fissure sealants. Due to the anatomy of the tooth, the deep pits and fissures act as retentive sites to plaque, food materials, micro-organisms, eventually becoming caries susceptible as compared to smooth surfaces. Evidence has shown, that application of sealants to such sites being the most effective measure. This procedure is minimally invasive as the sealant material bonds micro-mechanically to the tooth surface, acting as a barrier. Sealant adhesion is the major factor to be considered with the use of conventional sealants. Conventional hydrophobic sealants are moisture sensitive, hence they require a dry enamel surface while sealant placement. To overcome this drawback, moisture friendly or hydrophilic sealants were introduced in to dental market. Hydrophilic sealants are water miscible, have fluoride releasing properties, are thixotropic in nature, thus allowing the material to flow onto the etched enamel and thus creating a better retention due to the stronger bond. This scientific paper reviews the literature and elaborates the significance of pit and fissure sealants and exclusively discusses about the newly developed hydrophilic or moisture tolerant pit and fissure sealants.