Dental sealants are, along with community water fluoridation, another cost-effective and safe preventive measure to reduce the incidence of dental caries, especially in children and adolescents. Sealants are thin, plastic coatings applied to the molars to minimize the opportunity for bacterial decay to occur in the grooves and pits of the back teeth. Easily applied, dental sealants act as a protective shield that, if utilized at an early age, can significantly limit any future need for painful and/or costly dental treatment procedures.

As a result, school-based or school-linked dental sealant programs are highly effective ways to provide this preventive health strategy to children and adolescents. In addition, implementing these programs in areas with high rates of tooth decay, particularly in low-income populations, can provide children with a positive investment in dental care that will promote better oral, as well as overall, health while reducing health disparities in the population. Healthy People 2010 has set a targeted goal of providing dental sealants to half of all third grade students (age 8) in the country.

Percentage of Third-Grade Students with Dental Sealants

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Note: The Healthy People 2010 objective is for 50% of all children aged 8 to have dental sealants. Source: CDC and the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors. National Oral Health Surveillance System. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nohss. NOHSS State Overview of Dental Sealants

Figure: Percent of Persons Ages 5-17 with Sealants on Any Permanent Tooth by Race/Ethnicity

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Figure: Percent of Persons Ages 5-17 with Sealants on Any Permanent Tooth by Federal Poverty Level (FPL)

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