Oral Health, U.S. 2002 Annual Report
Section 2: PREVENTIVE INTERVENTIONS
Data from the NIDCR's National Survey of Oral Health in U.S. School Children in 1986-1987 showed that 7.6% of children from 5 to 17 years of age had sealants. This percentage had risen to 18.5% in results from the first half of NHANES III in 1988-1991 (Brunelle, 1989; Selwitz et al., 1996). Analyses based on NHANES III data from 1988 to 1994 indicate that 26.1% of children aged 8-10 and 22.2% of children aged 14-16 had sealants.
However, many of the children most at risk for caries development are not receiving sealants. Reasons for the low level of sealant usage include reimbursement issues in both public and private sectors, lack of public knowledge, concerns stemming from early problems with sealant materials and procedures for application, and concerns about covering incipient carious decay. Current guidelines address many of these issues.
SOURCE OF DATA
The analyses reported below are based on data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) 1988-1994, National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Demographic differences
- A higher percentage of non-Hispanic white children had sealants than either non-Hispanic black or Mexican American children (Figure 2.1.1).
- The percentage of children with sealants was higher for children from higher-income families (Figure 2.1.1).
- A higher percentage of non-Hispanic white children had sealants than either non-Hispanic black or Mexican American children in both age ranges and in both income categories (Figure 2.1.2).
Bullets reference data that can be found in Table 2.1.1.
REFERENCES
Brunelle JA. Prevalence of dental sealants in U.S. schoolchildren (abstract). J Dent Res 1989;68(Spec Iss):183.
Selwitz RH, Winn DM, Kingman A, Zion GR. The prevalence of dental sealants in the U.S. population: findings from the NHANES III, 1988-1991.
J Dent Res 1996;75(Spec Iss):652–660.
Figure 2.1.1. Percentage of children with dental sealants on 1st or 2nd molars by age group, race/ethnicity, and federal poverty level
 [D]
Note: The quartiles represented here are as follows: 1:0-0.838, 2:0.839–1.648, 3:1.649–642.912, and 4:2.913–11.889.
Data source: The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) 1988–1994, National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Figure 2.1.2. Percentage of children with dental sealants on 1st or 2nd molars by age group, race/ethnicity, and federal poverty level
 [D]
Data source: The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) 1988–1994, National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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