IADR Abstract Archives
Are School Based Pit and Fissure Sealant Programs Effective?
Objectives: Despite the use of fluorides, the permanent molars are still susceptible for dental caries and hence additional preventive programs are essential. School based pit and fissure sealant programs are one such public health initiative to prevent dental caries in molars. So, the objectives for the current review are: 1.To investigate the effectiveness of school based pit and fissure sealant programs in prevention of dental caries in children. 2. To find out whether school based pit and fissure sealant programs are feasible in India.
Methods: A systematic literature survey was carried out in January 2017 in electronic data bases such as PubMed, PubMed central and Google Scholar, with MeSH terms “PIT AND FISSURE SEALANTS” Key words such as “School based pit and fissure sealant programs” Articles in English language and published between January 2000 to January 2017 were selected. The outcome measure was incidence of dental caries among sealed verses unsealed. 31 articles were obtained through searches out of which 9 were selected for study which met the inclusion criteria of the review.
Results: The first permanent molars that received sealants were less at risk of developing new caries at 1 year of follow-up. The total retention of the pit and fissure sealants (1 year) ranged from 5.8% to 89 % and the reduction in caries incidence ranged from 73.2% to 100%. The programs were more successful if targeted at children aged 6-7 years old.
Conclusions: School based pit and fissure sealant programs result in significant reduction of dental caries and may be economically viable as the cost benefit ratio is also high. Similar programs can be implemented in India if resources are available. The need should be ascertained before implementation.
Methods: A systematic literature survey was carried out in January 2017 in electronic data bases such as PubMed, PubMed central and Google Scholar, with MeSH terms “PIT AND FISSURE SEALANTS” Key words such as “School based pit and fissure sealant programs” Articles in English language and published between January 2000 to January 2017 were selected. The outcome measure was incidence of dental caries among sealed verses unsealed. 31 articles were obtained through searches out of which 9 were selected for study which met the inclusion criteria of the review.
Results: The first permanent molars that received sealants were less at risk of developing new caries at 1 year of follow-up. The total retention of the pit and fissure sealants (1 year) ranged from 5.8% to 89 % and the reduction in caries incidence ranged from 73.2% to 100%. The programs were more successful if targeted at children aged 6-7 years old.
Conclusions: School based pit and fissure sealant programs result in significant reduction of dental caries and may be economically viable as the cost benefit ratio is also high. Similar programs can be implemented in India if resources are available. The need should be ascertained before implementation.