Comparison of glass ionomer cement and resin as sealing materials: Systematic review of clinical trials

Background/Aim: Glass ionomer cements (GIC) are regarded to be an alternative sealing material to Composite Resin (CR), the gold standard of sealing. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate Glass Ionomer Cements (GIC) in comparison with Resin-based materials in children and adolescents through a systematic review of clinical trials. Material and Methods: A systematic review of the literature conducted by two independent researchers on electronic data-bases PubMed, Cochrane Library, Willey, JADA, Journal of Evidence Based Dental Study. Reference lists from included articles were searched for relevant articles. The selection criteria followed the PRISMA guidelines and the clinical question was: Are Glass Ionomer Cements as effective as composite resin as sealing material? 7 clinical trials were provisionally included for further review. One of these was excluded. Results: The results reported no statistically significant difference between the retention and caries prevention of GIC in comparison with Composite Resin in 12 months. After 36 months the retention of resin was better. Conclusions: There is not enough evidence to support the superiority of either material. GIC has poorer retention rates compared to Resin Based sealants however there is no statistically significant difference regarding caries prevention.