Abstract
Purpose: The lack of access to preventive dental services, such as dental sealants, can be a major barrier to optimal dental health. School-based dental sealant programs can serve as programs to improve access to preventive dental services.
Methods: This school-based dental sealant program managed by a Boston dental school with collaborating partners in the metro west area of Massachusetts provides free dental sealants to second grade children. The number of second grade children having dental sealants was tracked for 6 school years and compared with the Healthy People 2010 objective of 50% of all children aged 8 years to have at least 1 dental sealant.
Results: From school years 2003 to 2004 through 2008 to 2009, 1,609 dental screenings were provided for second grade children. Of those, 1,189 received dental sealants. To determine whether or not the Healthy People 2010 objective was met, the number of children who received dental sealants from the school-based program was added to the number of children who already had their permanent first molars sealed by their own dentist at the time of the dental screening, plus children with sealants per parent report. In total, the aggregate second grade enrollment having sealants during the designated school years was 54%.
Conclusion: The specific Healthy People 2010 objective was achieved over the designated time period. School-based dental sealant programs can help to decrease or eliminate barriers for access to preventive dental services by increasing the number of children who receive dental sealants.
This study supports the NDHRA priority area, Health Promotion/Disease Prevention: Identify, describe, and explain mechanisms that promote access to oral health care, e.g., financial, physical, transportation.
- Copyright © 2011 The American Dental Hygienists' Association
