Dental Caries (Cavities): School-Based Dental Sealant Delivery Programs

NewCDC

An Evidence-Based Practice

Description

Dental sealants are clear or opaque plastic materials applied to the chewing surfaces of the back teeth to prevent dental caries.

School-based programs provide dental sealants to students in two settings:
-Onsite at schools using portable dental equipment
-Offsite in dental clinics

Programs may target the following:
-Entire schools in low income neighborhoods
-Individuals within a school, based on their risk for tooth decay

Impact

The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends school-based programs to deliver dental sealants and prevent dental caries (tooth decay) among children.

Results / Accomplishments

Programs that delivered sealants within school settings increased the proportion of students who received sealants and decreased occurrence of tooth decay.

-Implementing a sealant delivery program led to a 26 percentage point increase in the number of students who received sealants (2 studies). Greater increases were seen among students from low-income families.
-Students who received dental sealants had a median of 50% fewer cavities up to four years later as compared with students who did not receive sealants (interquartile interval [IQI]: 38% to 61%; 2 studies).

In the systematic review of sealant efficacy, dental sealants were shown to reduce dental caries by a median of 81% at 2 year follow up (IQI:74% to 88%; 12 studies).

About this Promising Practice

Primary Contact
The Community Guide
1600 Clifton Rd, NE
MS H21-8
Atlanta, GA 30329
(404) 498-1827
communityguide@cdc.gov
https://www.thecommunityguide.org/
Topics
Health / Oral Health
For more details
https://www.thecommunityguide.org/findings/dental-...

Related Promising Practices

  1. CDC COMMUNITY GUIDE: Preventing Dental Caries: Community Water Fluoridation
  2. CDC COMMUNITY GUIDE: Preventing Dental Caries: School-Based or -Linked Sealant Delivery Programs
  3. Dental Caries (Cavities): Community Water Fluoridation
  4. Kaiser Permanente Dental Care Program Smokeless Tobacco Cessation Intervention
  5. Partnering with Community Health Centers to Prevent Early Childhood Carries (ECC)
  6. School-Based Intervention to Promote Tooth Brushing

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An Evidence-Based Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures showing improvement in the outcome(s) of interest after the implementation of the program (i.e. increase in smoking cessation, not just the delivery of a smoking cessation program). The outcome measure(s) is/are compared at relevant time periods before and after the intervention or program implementation. Alternatively, the evaluation study compares the outcome(s) between an intervention group and an appropriate control group.
  3. The study is of peer-review quality and presents numbers in a scientific manner; measurements of precision and reliability are included (e.g. confidence intervals, standard errors), results from statistical tests show a significant difference or change in the outcome measure(s), and relevant point estimates and p-values are presented. Note: if the results from an evaluation of a program are presented in a scientific manner and the outcome measure is improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant, the practice is classified as effective and not evidence-based.