Bonded amalgam sealants and adhesive resin sealants: five-year clinical results.

Bonded amalgams were used as pit-and-fissure sealants without mechanical preparation. They were compared with resin-based pit-and-fissure sealants for retention over a 5-year period. Clinical examinations at 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, and 5 years revealed no difference between the two techniques. Although amalgam sealants may not be practical by themselves, they can be used to seal pits and fissures surrounding very conservative preparations, in the "preventive amalgam restoration." Conventional amalgam retentive features and 90-degree cavosurface margins may not be necessary when bonding is used with amalgam.