An Evaluation of the Saskatchewan Pit and Fissure Sealant Program: a Longitudinal Followup

Abstract

The Saskatchewan Health Dental Plan (SHDP) is a publicly funded dental insurance program for children between the ages of five and 16 years residing in the province. In 1981, fissure sealants were added as a covered expense. Until September 1, 1987, sealants and other dental treatments covered under the SHDP were provided to schoolchildren by dental therapists in dental clinics established in elementary schools throughout the province. After September 1, 1987, the provision of dental services was transferred to private practitioners in the province. The objectives of this study were to (1) estimate the retention rates of sealants after one, two, and three years of placement; and (2) conduct a longitudinal followup of sealed and unsealed sound teeth to measure the effectiveness of sealants in reducing dental caries incidence. Relative to the first objective, a cohort of children was identified and comparisons were carried out for the periods of 1982-83, 1982-84, and 1982-85. For the last objective, a longitudinal evaluation of effectiveness was carried out only for children five to seven years of age in 1981. Saskatchewan children, who experienced higher caries prevalence than children in the United States, had the highest caries increments on occlusal surfaces of posterior teeth. About 79 percent of the sealants applied by dental therapists were retained three years after application. Sealed teeth experienced 46 percent less caries than unsealed teeth four years after the application of sealants.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Incidence of caries in an infant population in Mostoles, Madrid. Evaluation of a preventive program after 7·5 years of follow‐up

“…This confirms the continued effectiveness of the dental preventive programme for permanent teeth, even though this is less than that reported in evaluations carried out after 2 and 4·5 years into the programme [33,34]. Results after 7·5 years show benefit with reductions in DMFT, DMFM and DMFS comparable to those seen in other studies carried out in areas with dental‐health programmes [4,5,35–37].…”

Saskatchewan's school‐based dental program staffed by dental therapists: a retrospective case study

“…In 1981, pit and fissure sealants were added to the services provided by the SHDP. Seventy‐nine percent of sealants completed were retained 3 years after placement . Sealed teeth experienced 46 percent fewer carious lesions than unsealed teeth 4 years after placement.…”

Pit and Fissure Sealant: Then, Now, and Next Steps

“…A meta-analysis carried out by Llodra et al showed that the overall effectiveness of autopolymerized resin was 71 percent and the authors concluded t ha t " auto p ol y mer izing s e a 1 an t s should be used" (24). IsmaiI and coworkers reported in an evaluation of the Saskatchewan dental program that sealed teeth experienced 46 percent fewer carious lesions than unsealed teeth four years after the application of sealants (25).…”