Eva J. Mertz-Fairhurst

Clinical progress of sealed and unsealed caries. Part I: Depth changes and bacterial counts

1. A method for measuring depth changes in carious lesions has been developed. 2. A method for estimating bacterial viability in the study lesions has been developed. 3. Sealed cavities showed little or no change in depth over a 1-year period. 4. Open lesions showed a significant increase in depth as compared to sealed lesions. 5. Elimination or marked decrease in viable organisms under the sealant occurred.

Clinical progress of sealed and unsealed caries. Part II: Standardized radiographs arid clinical observations

At the present time, a trend has been shown that the progress of sealed caries is markedly slowed by sealant therapy as compared to open lesions. This fact has been substantiated by depth measurements, viable bacterial counts, standardized radiographs, and clinical observations. The radiographic and clinical observations agreed with the previously reported two parameters in confirming that (1) sealed cavities showed little or no change in depth and (2) open lesions showed a significant increase in depth as compared to sealed lesions.