Evaluation of the retention of dental fissure cleft sealants three years after their application to 13-14 year old schoolchildren

Abstract

The application of dental cleft sealant in the infant population is an efficient measure in the prevention of occlusal caries and has been adopted by the Program of Infant Dental Attention (Programa de Atención Dental Infantil - PADI) in Navarra. It involves placing a polymerizable resin over the furrows and clefts of the recently emerged and healthy molars. The high levels of retention of the sealant make it possible to preserve the teeth from caries, contributing to a reduction in their incidence. The present descriptive study aims to gain knowledge of and evaluate the permanence of the sealants three years after their application. The work was carried out in 1996 in the Oral Health Service of Navarra on a sample of 160 boys and girls out of a total of 1,372 aged between 16 and 17 years in the Pamplona and Estella health area, who had been treated with cleft sealant at the age of 13-14 years. We found that after 3 years there was retention of the cleft sealant in 39% of those implanted (30% with partial retention and 9% total). In the rest of the sealants (61%) retention was nil. These results differ from those described in other studies in which the percentage of retention is higher. This leads us to affirm the need for revising and improving the technique of application and for carrying out prospective studies for subsequent checks to determine the causes of low retention.