1.1 Description and History of Sealant Programs and Program Basics

Programs in the United States

A 1994 national survey conducted by ODH and the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors (ASTDD) identified 120 school-based and school-linked dental sealant programs.2 The first school-based program in the United States reportedly started in the early 1970s in Tennessee. Sealant programs became more common in the 1980s following the National Preventive Dentistry Demonstration Program’s report on school-based dental sealant programs’ favorable results.3 Unfortunately, no comprehensive national surveys that provide information about school-based dental sealant programs throughout the United States have been conducted since 1994.

Programs in Ohio

The City of Cincinnati Health Department launched Ohio’s first school-based dental sealant program in 1984, and the Columbus Health Department soon followed, starting up in 1986. In 2001, Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine started the third major independent program in Ohio in Cleveland schools. The other public programs in Ohio are funded by ODH through its competitive grant program that began in 1987. Most of these local programs started up during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Typically, Ohio sealant programs are operated by local health departments. For recent data on Ohio programs, see At-a-Glance: School-Based Dental Sealant Programs.4

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