Fissure Sealant Use in Australian School Dental Services (SDS)

Objectives: To describe the fissure sealant use among children attending SDS in 2008 by age, caries experience, state/territory and remoteness, and the trends of fissure sealant use in Australia between 1989 and 2008.

Methods: Fissure sealant use among 63,870 children aged 6 to12 years was ascertained as part of an annual surveillance survey to monitor the oral health of children who were enrolled in SDS in 2008. New South Wales and Victoria were excluded from the survey due to non-representativeness of the sample and lack of access to data, respectively.

Results: On average, fissure sealants were provided to 0.56 teeth in all children with 0.10 teeth among 6 year olds and 0.75 teeth among 12 year olds being sealed. Nearly 17% children with no caries experience had fissure sealants whereas almost 30% children who had experienced caries were provided with sealants. While the children in the Northern Territory reported the lowest mean number of teeth with sealants (0.20) those in the Australian Capital Territory had the highest mean number of teeth sealed (1.70). Children from inner (0.65) and outer (0.64) regions had a greater mean number of teeth with fissure sealants than those who live in major cities (0.54) and remote/very remote regions (0.38). From 1989 to 2001, fissure sealant use among children with and without caries experience increased with 41% and 34% children, respectively, having fissure sealed teeth in 2001, but decreased thereafter to 35% and 18% in 2008.

Conclusions: Despite a decline in fissure sealant use after 2001, children who already had caries experience were more likely to receive sealants throughout the period reported.