Effect of Enamel Pretreatment Using Er,Cr:YSGG Laser Irradiation on Micro‐shear Bond Strength of a Self‐etch Fissure Sealant

Abstract Fissure sealant application is an efficient method for dental caries prevention. Self‐etch fissure sealants (SE‐FS) eliminate the separate etching step for bonding. The present study investigated the micro‐shear bond strength (μSBS) of a SE‐FS (Prevent seal®, Itena©, Paris, France) to enamel pretreated with different methods including Er,Cr:YSGG laser, under noncontaminated and saliva‐contaminated conditions. Sixty human premolars were sectioned into halves and randomly assigned into two groups of saliva‐contaminated and noncontaminated. Each group was further divided into six subgroups ( N = 10) of different enamel pretreatment methods: (Laser+SE‐FS), (Acid‐etch+SE‐FS), (Laser+Acid‐etch+SE‐FS), (Mechanical preparation+SE‐FS), (SE‐FS), and (Acid‐etch+Bonding+Conventional fissure sealant) as positive control. The μSBS of the sealant material to enamel was measured in all subgroups. The two‐way ANOVA and Tukey tests were applied at P < 0.05. Saliva contamination had a significant effect on μSBS ( P < 0.001), while pretreatment with laser or acid etching did not significantly affect the μSBS ( P = 0.251). The μSBS of SE‐FS to untreated enamel surface was significantly lower than the positive control ( P = 0.035). The μSBS value in the subgroup receiving laser+etching+SE‐FS was significantly higher than the remaining five subgroups ( P < 0.001). Other pairwise comparisons were not statistically significant ( P > 0.05). Acid‐etch and Er,Cr:YSGG laser exert a synergic effect on μSBS of Prevent Seal®, irrespective of saliva contamination.