Building community support for a school dental sealant program

Children from low-income families experience more dental caries and are less likely to receive dental treatment than children from middle- and high-income families. An overwhelming amount of scientific evidence supports the effectiveness of pit and fissure sealants in deterring the development of dental caries. The authors describe a unique component of the Multnomah County, Oregon, sealant program in which local dentists volunteer to conduct dental screenings in schools. This program, which began in 1989, targets elementary schools with 40% or more of students on free or reduced-cost lunch programs. During the 1999-2000 school year, volunteer dentists screened 5,252 second- and third-grade students in 64 schools and other community programs. As a result of the screenings, dental hygienist/dental assistant teams placed a total of 11,087 dental sealants on 3,866 children (a mean of 2.87 per child). The dentists who conducted the screenings were asked to evaluate the dental sealants placed during the previous school year. The program is one example of how a school dental sealant program can be staffed to optimize the resources of a state or county public health department. An added benefit of this staffing pattern is that it builds linkages in the dental community and a foundation for collaboration between private-practice dentists and public health programs. This type of collaboration is essential to the practice of public health. Furthermore, the involvement of private dentists in a local school sealant program can contribute to the long-term oral health of low-income children.