Toothbrush-Dentifrice Abrasion of Dental Sealants: An In Vitro Study

Objective This study sought to investigate the toothbrush-dentifrice abrasion of dental sealants. Materials and Methods Weight loss (∆W) and depth loss (∆D) were used as abrasion indicators. Sealant samples from nine products were soaked in dentifrice slurry and abraded by using a toothbrushing machine with a brushing force of 300 g. The mean percentages of ∆W and mean values of ∆D after 24,000 and 48,000 strokes of brushing were compared by using paired t -test. A comparison of these mean values among sealant products was performed by using one-way ANOVA and multiple comparison analysis (Scheffe's test). Results Abrasive wear was observed in all sealants. Teethmate F-1 (Kuraray Noritake, Tokyo, Japan)—a fluoride-releasing unfilled sealant—exhibited the maximum abrasive wear, with ∆W and ∆D values of 1.14% ± 0.37% and 12.84 ± 4.28 µm, respectively. Delton (Dentsply Sirona, Charlotte, North Carolina, United States), a light-cured unfilled sealant, showed the minimum abrasive wear, with ∆W and ∆D values of 0.41% ± 0.09% and 2.93 ± 1.23 µm, respectively. No statistical differences were observed among unfilled sealants except when compared with Teethmate F-1. Similarly, no differences were observed when comparing among filled sealants and flowable composite. Conclusion Abrasive wear occurred in all sealants after brushing with dentifrice. Almost all unfilled sealants showed less wear compared with both filled sealants and flowable composite. However, the low abrasive values of all sealants after brushing with dentifrice implied that there is no clinical significance to this finding.