Title	Penetration Depth of Flowable Nanocomposite as a Pit and Fissure Sealant in Children and Adolescents Is Greater Than Conventional Sealant Material
Clinical Question	In children and adolescents, is flowable nanocomposite a comparable alternative to conventional sealants when evaluating penetration into deep pits and fissures?
Clinical Bottom Line	For young patients with deep pits and fissures, flowable nanocomposite is more effective than conventional pit and fissure sealants in regard to depth of penetration. This is supported by an in vitro comparative study in which flowable nanocomposites produced a significantly higher mean percentage penetration than conventional pit and fissure sealants.
Best Evidence
PubMed ID Author / Year Patient Group Study type (level of evidence) 22016312 Singh/2011 45 extracted non-carious pre-molars In Vitro Comparative Study Key results The mean percentage of fissure penetration of flowable nanocomposite was significantly higher compared to conventional pit and fissure sealants (P = 0.001).
Evidence Search	Children, pit and fissure sealants, flowable nanocomposite, penetration
Comments on The Evidence	The extracted premolars were similar at the start and then were randomly placed into different groups, although they do not specify whether the groups were evenly balanced for maxillary and mandibular teeth; this could affect the results greatly as a result of variance in fissure anatomy. All three experimental groups were treated the same. Since this was a lab study, compliance, recall bias, and completion rate were not applicable. Although this in vitro study resulted in strong evidence for the use of flowable nanocomposite in terms of percentage penetration, long-term clinical studies are necessary to establish the more clinically relevant outcome of caries prevention with these materials.
Applicability	The extracted premolars used in this study gave it limited applicability, since clinically the teeth most often sealed are molars. Although this study was also not completely representative of an actual clinical setting, more studies should now be done to compare the clinical effectiveness of these various materials. Nevertheless, this study was applicable in determining that flowable nanocomposite should be considered as a possible future alternative to conventional pit and fissure sealants, especially for pediatric dental patients with deep pit and fissure anatomy.
Specialty	(Public Health) (General Dentistry) (Pediatric Dentistry)
Keywords	Pit and fissure sealants, flowable nanocomposite
ID#	3206
Date of submission	04/05/2017
E-mail	piazza@livemail.uthscsa.edu
Author	Alyssa Piazza
Co-author(s)
Co-author(s) e-mail
Faculty mentor	Suman Challa, BDS, MS
Faculty mentor e-mail	challas@uthscsa.edu
Basic Science Rationale (Mechanisms that may account for and/or explain the clinical question, i.e. is the answer to the clinical question consistent with basic biological, physical and/or behavioral science principles, laws and research?) None available
Comments and Evidence-Based Updates on the CAT (FOR PRACTICING DENTISTS', FACULTY, RESIDENTS and/or STUDENTS COMMENTS ON PUBLISHED CATs) None available