Anderson, Keith Andrew (2018-04). Increasing Sealant Retention During Orthodontic Treatment with Gingival Retraction Cord Isolation. Master's Thesis.
Thesis
Introduction: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of gingival retraction cord isolation on the retention of sealants placed on the facial surface of maxillary anterior teeth during orthodontic treatment. Methods: An in-vivo randomized split-mouth study, including 32 adolescent orthodontic patients (14 male, 18 female, mean age 14.4 +-1.5 years), was performed. One quadrant had gingival retraction cord isolation prior to sealant placement, while the contralateral control quadrant had no retraction cord placed. Retention of the sealant (Pro Seal, Reliance Orthodontic Products, Itasca, IL) was evaluated with black-light photographs taken prior to, as well as, 3 and 7 months into treatment. The fluorescent sealant was traced digitally using Analyze 12.0 software to quantitatively analyze sealant retention. Results: Regardless of whether or not retraction cord was used, greater than 35% of the sealant was lost after 3 months, and over 45% was lost after 7 months of treatment time. The lateral incisors had significantly greater (5-11%) sealant loss than central incisors and canines. The gingival region of teeth had approximately 6-10% greater sealant loss than the overall tooth surface. The use of gingival retraction cord isolation decreased sealant loss by a statistically significant (p=0.02) 5-7%. Conclusions: Gingival retraction cord had a small positive effect on sealant retention, but the difference was too small to be clinically significant.
