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Key Points
- Dental sealants are thin plastic coatings that are bonded to the pit-and-fissure surfaces of teeth to prevent dental caries.
- School-based dental sealant programs generally provide sealants to children who are less likely than their higher-income counterparts to receive private oral health care, such as children who are enrolled in federal programs like FRPM or Medicaid or who are uninsured.
- In 2001, a systematic review conducted by the Task Force on Community Preventive Services found that school-based and school-linked dental sealant programs are effective in reducing dental caries.
- A number of variables (e.g., retention rate, length of study, caries risk of population) influence the extent to which sealants save money.
- ODH provides grants to school-based dental sealant programs that enable them to provide sealants to students (with parental consent) at no charge to parents in participating schools.
- Key elements of ODH’s approach are to make sure that programs use a community-based approach to dental caries prevention, target children at higher risk for dental caries, operate efficiently, ensure quality, and maximize the use of public funding.
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