Postgraduate Researchers in Science Medicine Conference 2005: Abstracts
Determinants of use and outcomes of fissure sealants in General Dental Service
Yeung CA, Milsom KM, Blinkhorn AS, Tickle M
Objectives: To describe the use and outcomes of fissure sealants applied to first permanent molars (FPMs) of children with high caries risk in North West England.
Methods: Case notes of 677 children who had a history of approximal caries, and regularly attended 50 general dental practitioners, were examined. Logistic regression models were fitted to identify whether decision to fissure seal FPMs was significantly associated with gender, socio-economic status, carious primary teeth number, and percentage of carious primary teeth filled. Similar models were fitted for caries experience in FPMs.
Results: Poorer children were significantly (OR=0.84, 95% CI=0.71, 0.99, p=0.04) less likely to receive fissure sealants than affluent children, whilst girls (OR=1.54, 95% CI=1.12, 2.12, p=0.008) were more likely to have sealants than boys. Total number of carious primary teeth was also a significant (OR=1.15, 95% CI=1.06, 1.25, p=0.001) independent predictor of dentists’ decisions to fissure seal FPMs. Analysis showed that pit and fissure caries in FPMs were not affected by fissure sealants.
Conclusions: Decision to fissure seal FPMs is affected by past caries experience in primary dentition. Girls and affluent children were more likely to receive fissure sealants. Placement of fissure sealants did not appear to prevent caries for high-risk children.
Albert Yeung, School of Dentistry, The University of Manchester, Higher Cambridge Street, Manchester M15 6FH
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