Comparison of Various Concentrations of Tricalcium Phosphate Nanoparticles on Mechanical Properties and Remineralization of Fissure Sealants

Objective: the aim of this study was to investigate the mechanical properties (flexural strength, micro-shear bond strength) and remineralizing potential of fissure sealants by adding various concentrations of β-tricalcium phosphate nanoparticles.materials and methods: this in-vitro study consisted of five experimental groups con-taining prepared nano-fisssure sealants (1-5 wt.% -tcp nanoparticles) and two control groups containing a prepared and a commercial fissure sealant.flexural/micro-shear bond strength values were measured using zwick test machine. cavities on sixty healthy premolar teeth were filled with the fissure sealants containing 0-5 wt.% of nano -tcp. the samples were assessed for remineralization under scanning electron microscopy (sem) and edax. kolmogorov-smirnov test, one-way anova and tukey's post hoc analysis/hsd were used to analyze the data.results: there was no significant difference between the flexural strengths/elastic mod-ulus of the 0-5 wt.% nano β-tcp groups (p>0.05). the average flexural strength/elastic modulus of the prepared fissure sealant group (0%) was significantly higher than the commercial fissure sealant group (clinpro) (p<0.05). there was no significant difference between micro-shear bond strengths of the experimental groups (1-5 wt.%), and between the commercial and the prepared (0%) fissure sealant groups (p>0.05). examining the samples under sem showed a significant increase in thickness of the intermediate layer with increasing concentrations of β-tcp nanoparticles (p<0.05).conclusion: addition of 1-5 wt.% -tcp nanoparticles to the fissure sealants significant-ly increased the remineralization potential without affecting the mechanical properties.