Comparative Study of One Year Sealant Effectiveness Among 3 Models Service on First Molar in Bangkok Metropolitan Administration Schools

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine complete retention rate and compare effectiveness of Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) school-based sealant program in three different setting models: 1) In dental clinic model 2) Mobile dental clinic at school model and 3) In dental clinic van model. All of them used high power suction, dental assistant and same materials. The practitioners sealed in different workloads among 3 models. The design was a retrospective study of school-based sealant program evaluation records. Sealant retention and tooth status after 1 year of sealant application was evaluated by calibrated dentists. The final sample size of 1,494 sealed teeth from 2,668 teeth of 667 children were sampled randomly 11 districts and 10% cluster sampling of grade 2 and 3 elementary schoolchildren. Effectiveness of sealant service was analyzed in form of percentage of complete retention without caries and compare among 3 models by chi-square. Percentage of complete retention without caries was 75.10. The effectiveness of sealant among 3 models of service was significantly different but was not different between upper and lower teeth. Sealant service in mobile dental clinic at school model showed the highest percentage of complete retention without caries of 93.78, followed by in mobile van model (70.60) and in dental clinic model (45.30), respectively. In conclusion, effectiveness of sealant program differed among 3 service models significantly. High workload might have influenced practitioners’ moisture controlling and rechecking after sealant application. Providing suitable workload and feedback auditing are recommended for improving effectiveness of sealant service.