Pit and Fissure Sealants in the Prevention of Dental Caries in ...

––– Sealants: Prevention of Caries –––
Citation: Feigal RJ, Quelhas I. Clinical trial of a self-etching adhesive for sealant application: success at 24 months
with Prompt L-Pop. Am J Dent 2003; 16(4):249–51.
Population: Children with contralateral pairs of newly erupted first or second permanent molars
• Age: 7–13 years (mean 10.5 years)
• Sex: Not mentioned
• Location: Dental school, University of Michigan
• Representative of children with low to moderate caries risk, from a mixed fluoride region
Intervention: Prompt L-Pop, the first self-etching adhesive, as the sole etching and adhesive step before placement of
sealant on 31 permanent molars
Control: Sealant placed on 31 permanent molars after etching with phosphoric acid
Outcomes (follow-up at 1, 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months):
24-month success with no significant loss of material or need for repair:
• Occlusal sealants: control vs. Prompt L-Pop, 61% vs. 61%
• Buccal–lingual sealants: control vs. Prompt L-Pop, 54% vs. 62%
• No statistically significant difference
Time of placement for sealants:
• Control vs test: 3.1 vs. 1.8 minutes (statistically significant)
Authors’ Conclusion: Prompt L-Pop self-etching adhesive is effective in bonding sealant to enamel, and the simplified
method dramatically shortens treatment time and treatment complexity.
Critical Appraisal:
• Small sample size
• No indication of caries-preventive effect
• No indication of entry sample size and loss to follow-up
Level of Evidence, Grade of Recommendation and Score on “Checklist to Assess Evidence of Efficacy of Therapy or
Prevention”: Level I; grade C for using Prompt L-Pop before sealant placement other than to save time; score 12/16
JCDA • www.cda-adc.ca/jcda • March 2008, Vol. 74, No. 2 • App_183xiii