Fissure sealant knowledge and characteristics of parents as a function of their child's sealant status

Parents' knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding the pit and fissure sealant therapy

Context

Parents' interpretation on children's oral health care practices plays a vital role in improving children's oral health.

Aim

This study sought to evaluate parents' knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding dental sealants.

Materials and Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among parents of school-going children in Chennai, India. Knowledge, attitude, and practice toward sealant therapy were assessed through a questionnaire survey among 250 parents (45% fathers and 55% mothers).

Results

A statistically significant difference was noted in the knowledge and attitude scores at various age groups; 71% of the participants agreed that pit and fissure sealants are effective in preventing dental caries. Only 34% of the study participants' children had received dental sealants.

Conclusion

The parental knowledge and awareness of preventive practices appear to support dental sealants as a preventive strategy for dental caries. But most parents did not practice the preventive measures despite knowing its effectiveness and benefits. Greater efforts should be made to encourage the parents to provide their children with primary care.

Awareness Among US Adults of Dental Sealants for Caries Prevention

INTRODUCTION

Dental sealants applied in childhood can help prevent caries, but knowledge of the availability of sealants and their function is not widespread. We assessed knowledge of dental sealants among US adults and adult parents of children younger than 18 and the differences in knowledge among demographic and socioeconomic groups.

METHODS

We used data on 3,550 respondents to the 2015 FallStyles B survey of noninstitutionalized US adults aged 18 or older. Authors constructed estimates by using weights provided to reflect the distribution of the US population. Knowledge of dental sealants was assessed by sex, age, race/ethnicity, education, household income, and parental status. Multivariate analysis was conducted by using a main effects logistic regression model.

RESULTS

Overall, 46.3% of adults and 55.1% of parents of children younger than 18 had knowledge of dental sealants. Sealant knowledge was highest among parents, women, respondents aged 45 to 59, and respondents with incomes greater than 200% of the federal poverty level and more than a high school education. Non-Hispanic blacks had less than half the odds of non-Hispanic whites of having knowledge of sealants (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 0.4), and nonparents had half the odds as parents (OR = 0.5) of knowing. The strongest predictors of parental sealant knowledge were race/ethnicity, sex, and income.

CONCLUSION

Disparities in sealant knowledge correspond to disparities in sealant prevalence. Increasing knowledge among low-income and racial/ethnic minority parents could reduce disparities in sealant prevalence and untreated caries.

Potential inhibition of demineralization in vitro by fluoride-releasing sealants

BACKGROUND

The incorporation of fluoride into sealants has been viewed as a viable way to prevent pit-and-fissure caries by potential inhibition of demineralization through the release of fluoride to enamel. The authors conducted a study to examine the effect of a recently introduced fluoride-releasing sealant (ProSeal, Reliance Orthodontic Products, Itasca, Ill.) on enamel demineralization in an in vitro artificial caries system.

METHODS

The authors randomly assigned 45 extracted human third molars to three treatment groups receiving either conventional sealant without fluoride (Group 1), fluoride-releasing sealant (Group 2) or glass ionomer sealant with high fluoride release (Group 3). They placed cavity preparations on the buccal surfaces of the molars and filled them with the assigned material. They placed acid-resistant varnish on the specimens' enamel surfaces to within 1 millimeter of the sealant, leaving a 1-mm rim of sound enamel available for in vitro enamel caries formation. They thermocycled the teeth (500 cycles) in artificial saliva. They subjected the teeth to an in vitro artificial caries challenge for six weeks to produce caries-like lesions in enamel adjacent to the sealant materials. The authors took longitudinal sections from each tooth, immersed them in water and examined them via polarized light microscopy to determine wall lesion frequencies.

RESULTS

The mean (+/- standard deviation) lesion depths were 232 +/- 17 micrometers for Group 1, 144 +/- 21 mum for Group 2 and 128 +/- 15 mum for Group 3. The wall lesion frequency was 12 percent for Group 1 and 7 percent for both Groups 2 and 3. There was a significant difference (P < .05) among the fluoride-releasing materials versus the nonfluoride-releasing material. This study indicates that the new fluoride-releasing sealant substantially reduces the amount of enamel demineralization adjacent to the material.

CONCLUSION

ProSeal provided increased demineralization inhibition compared with a conventional sealant containing no fluoride, but less than that shown by a glass ionomer sealant.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

ProSeal's physical properties and cariostatic effects may allow for applications beyond traditional sealant use.

The use of dental sealants by Ohio dentists

OBJECTIVES

To assess the extent to which Ohio dentists report using pit and fissure sealants and factors associated with sealant use.

METHODS

A mail survey of a random sample of Ohio dentists was conducted in 1989 and repeated in 1992 with a newly drawn sample. Only responses from general dentists were analyzed using univariate analyses and multiple regression.

RESULTS

Dentists who reported using sealants increased from 79.4 percent in 1989 to 91.8 percent in 1992. In 1992, 42.9 percent were low-level users (< 15% of school-aged patients), 41.7 percent were moderate-level users (15-39%), and 15.3 percent were high-level users (> 39%). Over three-fourths of sealant-using dentists expressed some degree of willingness to seal incipient caries. The level of sealant use was associated with dentists' knowledge about sealants, conservative management of dental caries, number of children seen in the practice, and influence of insurance coverage for sealants. The regression model explained 22.0 percent of the variance. Clinical factors associated with the level of use were: dentists' willingness to seal premolars; caries-free teeth; teeth with deep, narrow pits and fissures; teeth with small, frank occlusal caries; and patients 18 years of age or older. This regression model explained only 15.1 percent of the variance.

CONCLUSIONS

The grate majority of Ohio dentists report using sealants. The percent of reported sealant users increased between 1989 and 1992. Ohio dentists are not consistent with regard to the percent of their child patients for whom they apply sealants or their willingness to seal incipient caries. Dentists continue to identify lack of insurance coverage for sealant application as a major barrier to patients receiving the service.

Parental knowledge and attitudes towards pit and fissure sealants

No survey of public knowledge and attitudes towards pit and fissure sealants has been carried out in Australia. This study assessed the knowledge and attitudes of parents of Melbourne school children attending five dental treatment centres, regarding sealants. Of 554 parents surveyed by questionnaire, 487 (88 per cent) provided codable responses which were analysed by the log-likelihood ratio statistic and three-way hierarchical log-linear regression models. A total of 57.5 per cent respondents had heard of sealants; 46.4 per cent knew sealants prevent dental caries, and 45 per cent rated sealants important in caries prevention. Respondents attending private dentists or the Dental Therapy School were more knowledgeable about sealants than those attending other centres. Sealant awareness was related significantly to gender (p < 0.05), country of origin (p < 0.05), family income (p < 0.05), and frequency of dental visits of children (p < 0.001); the apparent association with country of origin, and annual family income, was explained by interactions between these variables and treatment centres. Dentists were the main source of dental health information including sealant awareness (p < 0.001). The most significant factors in sealant awareness were previous discussion of caries prevention by respondents with dentists; dentists as the main source of dental health information; and frequency of dental visits by the child(ren). These three factors confirm the importance of dentist-patient interactions in disseminating oral health information.

Risks of the "big three": what dentists and patients believe about dental amalgam, fluoride and HIV

Dental professionals have seriously considered the risks to the public from dental amalgam, fluoridated water and HIV transmission in the dental office. These issues are important to the public, who typically rely on practicing dentists for information about just how serious the risks are.

Factors associated with parental acceptance of dental sealants

Whereas a number of surveys have documented oral disease preventive behaviors and associated factors, little is known about public knowledge and beliefs about dental sealants. In this study, factors associated with the presence of sealants were studied in first and second graders residing in Columbia, SC. From a sample of 1,119 children, 88 were found clinically to have sealants; 508 did not have, but needed them. Parents of the sealant children (n = 87) and of a random sample of the no-sealant children (n = 289) were interviewed by telephone to obtain information regarding (1) factors related to parents' inclination to obtain sealants for their children, (2) ability of the family to obtain oral disease preventive services, and (3) the influence of others in the family's decision-making efforts. Analysis of 16 factors thought to be related to sealant presence revealed that parents were more likely to obtain dental sealants for their children if dentists or their staffs recommended them, if the parents were knowledgeable about dental sealants, if the parents were more highly educated, and if the parents had dental insurance coverage. Parents were less likely to obtain dental sealants for their children if they heard about them from mass media. The latter finding is unexpected and may have been influenced by conflicting or negative opinion expressed by some dental practitioners through mass media or other channels of communication.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Pit and fissure sealants. An underutilized preventive technology

The dramatic decrease in dental caries among children in the United States has been well documented and widely reported. In the early 1970s, only approximately 28% of children were free of dental caries; by 1980, this figure increased to 36.6% (53). The most recent national survey results reported by the National Institute of Dental Research found approximately 50% of all school children to be free of caries (50).

Oral health knowledge and sources of information among elementary schoolchildren

The dental health knowledge and sources of health information of 848 elementary schoolchildren (aged 9-12) in southwestern Michigan were assessed. Demographic parameters (education level, percent below poverty level, median income level) of the area were similar to state and national averages. The children were found to have some knowledge of caries and periodontal disease prevention, yet basic misconceptions were evident. More than one-third of the children thought that plaque should only be removed by a dentist. While 75 percent of the subjects knew that fluoride protected teeth from decay, only 4 percent of the children identified fluoridated water as the best source of this preventive agent. Knowledge of pit and fissure sealants was limited. Extent of correct dental knowledge was not related to age, sex, or mean DMFS scores. Children who answered the most questions correctly named parents and family as their source of information; dentist's office was the second most frequently mentioned source. Findings suggest a need to correct basic misinformation about dental health and to inform children about current efficacious preventive agents.