Non-Cochrane · intervention · PM41777750
Hydrophobic or hydrophilic fissure sealants: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Gheidari Ali, Shirazi Alireza Sarraf, Parisay Iman, et al. · Dental research journal · 2026 · PubMed · doi:10.4103/drj.drj_358_25
Findings
Population Permanent molars (fissure sealant placement)
4 findings
| Hydrophilic resin-based fissure sealant | Hydrophobic resin-based fissure sealant | Caries development 12 months | OR 0.490 [0.277, 0.867] Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision, inconsistency 6 studies |
| Hydrophilic resin-based fissure sealant | Hydrophobic resin-based fissure sealant | Caries development Follow-up mean 12 months | OR 0.809 [0.345, 1.896] Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision, inconsistency 8 studies · 1349 participants |
| Hydrophilic resin-based fissure sealant | Hydrophobic resin-based fissure sealant | Retention rate 12 months | OR 0.859 [0.596, 1.237] Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision, inconsistency 6 studies |
| Hydrophilic resin-based fissure sealant | Hydrophobic resin-based fissure sealant | Retention rate Follow-up mean 12 months | OR 1.235 [0.566, 2.694] Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision, inconsistency 10 studies · 1597 participants |
Included primary studies 14
Open in Studies| Study | Year | Also included by | Outcomes it informs here | Trial data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alharthy 2024 Clinical evaluation of hydrophilic and hydrophobic resin-based sealants in uncooperative children: a randomized controlled clinical trial. PMID:39087225 | 2024 | this review only | Caries development; Retention rate | not extracted yet |
| Askarizadeh 2017 One-Year Clinical Success of Embrace Hydrophilic and Helioseal-F Hydrophobic Sealants in Permanent First Molars: A Clinical Trial. PMID:29104600 | 2017 | this review only | Caries development; Retention rate | not extracted yet |
| Beresescu 2022 Comparative Assessment of Retention and Caries Protective Effectiveness of a Hydrophilic and a Conventional Sealant-A Clinical Trial. PMID:35626822 | 2022 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Bhat 2013 Moisture-tolerant resin-based sealant: A boon. PMID:24124301 | 2013 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Bhatia 2012 Evaluation of two resin based fissure sealants: a comparative clinical study. PMID:23263426 | 2012 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Ghadge 2024 Comparative evaluation of retention, marginal adaptation and marginal discoloration of hydrophilic and hydrophobic pit and fissure… PMID:39121242 | 2024 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Gyati 2023 Clinical Evaluation of Retention of Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Pit and Fissure Sealants in Permanent First Molars: An 18 Months… PMID:37519987 | 2023 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Khatri 2015 Retention of Moisture-tolerant and Conventional Resin-based Sealant in Six- to Nine-year-old Children. PMID:26314605 | 2015 | this review only | Caries development; Retention rate | not extracted yet |
| Khatri 2019 Retention of moisture-tolerant fluoride-releasing sealant and amorphous calcium phosphate-containing sealant in 6-9-year-old children: A… PMID:30804314 | 2019 | this review only | Caries development; Retention rate | not extracted yet |
| Mohanraj 2019 Comparative Evaluation of Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Resin-based Sealants: A Clinical Study. PMID:31597801 | 2019 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Ratnaditya 2015 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Reić 2022 Retention and caries-preventive effect of four different sealant materials: A 2-year prospective split-mouth study. PMID:34664337 | 2022 | this review only | Caries development; Retention rate | not extracted yet |
| Schlueter 2013 Efficacy of a moisture-tolerant material for fissure sealing: a prospective randomised clinical trial. PMID:22552593 | 2013 | this review only | Caries development; Retention rate | not extracted yet |
| Topal 2019 Evaluation of the fissure sealants applied to erupting permanent molars in accordance to eruption stages: A prospective study. PMID:31719270 | 2019 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
Review question
| Element | Planned (methods) | Found (results) |
|---|---|---|
| Population | Permanent molars receiving fissure sealants | Permanent first (and some second) molars; 2063 teeth in 14 trials (1098 hydrophilic, 965 hydrophobic) |
| Intervention | Hydrophilic resin-based fissure sealant | Hydrophilic sealants: Embrace WetBond (n=12 trials), UltraSeal XT hydro (n=2), Champ (n=1) |
| Comparison | Hydrophobic (regular) resin-based fissure sealant | Hydrophobic sealants: Helioseal, Delton FS, Clinpro, Helioseal-F, Fissurit F, Conseal F, Aegis |
| Outcomes | Caries development; retention rate | Caries development (n=11 trials); retention rate (n=14 trials); meta-analysis of 6 trials |
| Study designs | Randomized clinical trials with follow-up of at least 1 year | 14 RCTs (11 split-mouth, 2 parallel, 1 full factorial); 6 pooled |
| Timing | At least 12 months | 12 to 24 months; pooled analysis at 12 months |
AMSTAR 2 items
Two independent extractors rated each item. Their ratings are shown side by side because they have not been reconciled yet. The overall rating follows Shea et al. 2017: one critical flaw gives Low, more than one gives Critically Low.
| Item | Extractor A | Extractor B | Agree |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Research question includes PICO components | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 2Protocol established before the reviewcritical | No | No | yes |
| 3Choice of study designs explained | No | No | yes |
| 4Comprehensive literature searchcritical | Partial Yes | Partial Yes | yes |
| 5Study selection in duplicate | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 6Data extraction in duplicate | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 7List of excluded studies with reasonscritical | No | No | yes |
| 8Included studies described in detail | Partial Yes | Partial Yes | yes |
| 9Risk of bias assessed satisfactorilycritical | RCT: Yes | NRSI: N/A · RCT: Yes | no |
| 10Funding of included studies reported | No | No | yes |
| 11Appropriate meta-analysis methodscritical | RCT: Yes | NRSI: N/A · RCT: No | no |
| 12Impact of risk of bias on the pooled results | No | No | yes |
| 13Risk of bias accounted for in interpretationcritical | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 14Heterogeneity explained | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 15Publication bias investigatedcritical | No | No | yes |
| 16Conflicts of interest reported | Yes | Yes | yes |
| Overall | Critically Low | Critically Low | yes |