The effectiveness of erbium: Yttrium–aluminum–garnet laser on enamel conditioning: An in vitro study

Objectives: The purpose of this in vitro study was to investigate the effect of three different enamel surface conditioning procedures on the bonding strength of two resin‑based filled fissure sealants.Material and Methods: Freshly extracted, 48 third molar teeth were used in this study. Teeth were randomly divided into three main groups as the phosphoric acid etched, erbium: Yttrium–aluminum–garnet (ER: YAG) laser etched, and the phosphoric acid plus ER: YAG laser‑etched groups. The main groups further divided into two subgroups as Clinpro or Fissurit FX applied. After preparation of the enamel surfaces and application of the sealants, the samples were subjected to shear bond strength test.Results: According to statistical analysis with one‑way ANOVA, the bonding strength values of the phosphoric acid groups were found significantly higher than those values obtained from the ER: YAG laser and ER: YAG laser plus phosphoric acid groups (P ˂ 0.001).Conclusion: As a result of the study, it has been concluded that the laser application alone has no additional benefit to the acid application in terms of bonding strength.Keywords: Bonding strength, laser, pit and fissure sealan