The efficiency of cleaning fissures with an air-polishing instrument.

It is important to remove organic material before sealing fissures. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cleansing effect of an air-polishing instrument (Prophy Unit, 2000 Satelec). Nine pairs of newly erupted premolars were treated. One of the teeth was randomly selected for air-polishing; the contralateral one was cleaned with a rubber cup and a standardized solution of pumice. The teeth were immediately extracted and later photographed in a scanning electron microscope. The photos were mounted together, forming one large picture of each fissure. These pictures were split into pairs of contralateral sections, 22 pairs altogether. Three independent observers gave a score to the cleanest section within each pair. This evaluation was repeated after 7 weeks. The air-polished sections obtained 126.5 of 132 possible scores, whereas pumice was given only 5.5 (P = 0.0039). It is concluded that air-polishing is an effective pretreatment for fissure sealing of newly erupted teeth.