Comparative Evaluation of Sonic Vibration and Heat Preheating Techniques on the Retention and Efficacy of Flowable Composite Resin Sealants: A Quasi-experimental Study.

INTRODUCTION: Pit and fissure sealants are crucial in reducing the incidence of dental caries, particularly in the pediatric population. Despite their effectiveness, achieving optimal retention remains a challenge because of the complexity of the tooth morphology. This study evaluated the impact of two viscosity-reducing methods (heat energy and sonic vibration) on flowability, adaptability, and long-term retention of flowable composite resin sealants.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This quasi-experimental split-mouth study included 72 systemically healthy children aged 6-10 years. Teeth with shallow, wide fissures were allocated to the heat preheating group, whereas those with deep, narrow fissures were assigned to the sonic vibration group. The heat group utilized a composite resin heated to 50°C using an Endoking dental resin composite heater (Sigma Biomedicals, Telangana, India; power supply: DC 15 V, 2 A, 30 W), whereas the sonic group utilized a modified electric toothbrush (MI Xiaomi, MI electric toothbrush T100, Xiaomi Corp., Beijing, China) for sonic vibrations. The sealants were subjected to standardized etching, bonding, and photopolymerization protocols. Clinical evaluations were systematically performed at intervals of one, three, six, nine, and 12 months to evaluate the marginal integrity (MI), marginal discoloration (MD), and anatomical form (AF). Quantitative analysis was executed using the IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 23 (Released 2015; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York), with the threshold for statistical significance set at p<0.05.

RESULTS: The investigation revealed 100% MI in both cohorts at one- and three-month intervals. At the six-month interval, the incidence of MI decreased in 69 (95.8%) cases in the sonic cohort and 61 (84.7%) in the heat cohort (p=0.024). Throughout the 12-month period, the sonic cohort consistently exhibited superior performance compared to the heat cohort in the preservation of MI and reduction in MD (p=0.020). While both cohorts demonstrated similar levels of AF of pit and fissure sealants at most time points, the sonic cohort displayed enhanced retention and a lower incidence of sealant loss.

CONCLUSION: Both the heat and sonic vibration methods effectively reduced the viscosity of sealants, improving their retention and adaptation. However, sonic vibrations demonstrated superior long-term performance, particularly for deep and narrow fissures.