Microleakage Assessment of Hydrophilic Pit and Fissure Sealants Fortified with Green Synthesized Silver Nanoparticles-An in Vitro Study

Background and Aim: Pit and fissure sealants play a significant role in preventive dentistry. The sealant's physical properties lend a notable contribution to its long-term success. The invention of nanoscience has led to breakthrough discoveries in improving the mechanical properties of sealants. The current work aimed to evaluate the microleakage of Hydrophilic sealant fortified using silver nanoparticles compared to the Hydrophilic sealant and conventional sealant on permanent molars. Materials and methods: Silver nanoparticles were green synthesized using beetroot extract and incorporated into hydrophilic Ultraseal XT Hydro sealant. A sample of extracted third molars, thirty in number, were allocated randomly to three different groups as follows: Group I: conventional Clinpro sealant, Group II: hydrophilic Ultraseal XT hydro, and Group III: Ultraseal XT hydro fortified with silver nanoparticles. Microleakage assessment was performed using a stereomicroscope. The Kruskal-Wallis test was employed to compare the microleakage values of the three groups. Results: Group III had the lowest values about mean microleakage score \((0.60\pm0.548)\), and the highest scores were noted for Group I (\(1.40\pm0.548)\). A statistically significant difference was observed in comparing the three groups employing the Kruskal-Wallis test. Conclusion: The results of the current study have established that the microleakage was the lowest in fortified UltraSeal XT Hydro (Group III) when compared to Ultraseal XT Hydro (Group II) and Clinpro sealant (Group I).