Which statement is true about filled versus unfilled sealants in terms of wear and microleakage?

Which statement is true about filled versus unfilled sealants in terms of wear and microleakage?

• A. Filled sealants have lower wear rates; there is no difference in microleakage
• B. Filled sealants have higher wear rates and more microleakage
• C. Unfilled sealants have lower wear rates
• D. Microleakage is greater with filled sealants

Answer: (A)

Filled sealants resist wear better because the inorganic fillers raise the material’s hardness and modulus, reducing how quickly they wear away under chewing forces. When a sealant is properly placed and cured, microleakage depends mainly on how well it adapts to the etched enamel and how it shrinks during polymerization; filler content doesn't reliably change this sealing performance. So filled sealants showing lower wear with no difference in microleakage fits what we observe clinically. The other statements contradict how fillers influence wear or overstate an effect on microleakage that isn’t consistently supported by evidence.

Filled sealants resist wear better because the inorganic fillers raise the material’s hardness and modulus, reducing how quickly they wear away under chewing forces. When a sealant is properly placed and cured, microleakage depends mainly on how well it adapts to the etched enamel and how it shrinks during polymerization; filler content doesn't reliably change this sealing performance. So filled sealants showing lower wear with no difference in microleakage fits what we observe clinically. The other statements contradict how fillers influence wear or overstate an effect on microleakage that isn’t consistently supported by evidence.