Community Dental Health

cover art

Cover Date:
March 2007
Print ISSN:
0265 539X
Vol:
24
Issue:
1

Frequency and distribution patterns of sealants among 15-year-olds in Denmark in 2003

Aims: To provide information on the frequency and distribution patterns of sealants in the Public Dental Health Service for Children (PDHSC) in Denmark. A further aim was to determine whether there was a correlation between DMF-S and sealants. Design: A cross sectional survey using data from 15-year-old Danes in 2003. Sample and subjects: The sample consisted of 50 randomly selected municipalities from the 204 municipalities with public clinics. Thirty-nine municipalities (78%) forwarded useful data. A total number of 3,184 15-year-olds were involved in the study. Results: The mean DMF-S was 2.97 (SD=1.40) and 42% had a DMF-S=0. The mean number of sealants was 3.06 (SD=1.60). Two-thirds of all participants had one or more sealed surfaces. At the individual level the correlation coefficient (rs) between sealants and DMF-S was –0.05 (p<0.01). The mean number of sealants in one municipality was 0.26, in another 6.00. The surfaces most often sealed, were the occlusal surfaces on permanent second molars (35%), closely followed by the occlusal surfaces on permanent first molars (32%). Sealants on premolars were rare (1.5%). At the municipality level there was no significant correlation between mean DMF-S, % 15-year-olds with a DMF-S=0 and mean number of sealants (rs= 0.02 (p=0.90) and rs= 0.06 (p=0.73), respectively). Conclusion: The data indicate a high use of sealants on molar teeth, a very large inter-municipality variation, no correlation between sealants and DMF-S. These findings suggest that there are no clear guidelines for use of sealants in the PDHSC in Denmark.

Key words: Children, Denmark, public dental health service, sealants.

Article Price
£15.00
Institution Article Price
£
Page Start
26
Page End
30
Authors
K.R. Ekstrand, S. Martignon, M.E.C. Christiansen

Articles from this issue

  • Title
  • Pg. Start
  • Pg. End

  1. Editorial - Expanding dental undergraduate clinical outreach programmes into general dental practice.
  2. 2
  3. 3

  1. Community effectiveness of fissure sealants and the effect of fluoridated water consumption
  2. 4
  3. 11

  1. Financial systems’ impact on dental care; a review of fee-forservice and capitation systems
  2. 12
  3. 20

  1. Agreement amongst examiners assessing dental fluorosis from digital photographs using the TF index.
  2. 21
  3. 25

  1. Frequency and distribution patterns of sealants among 15-year-olds in Denmark in 2003
  2. 26
  3. 30

  1. Enamel defects and its relation to life course events in primary dentition of Brazilian children: A longitudinal study
  2. 31
  3. 36

  1. Oral health care and status of elderly care home residents in Glasgow.
  2. 37
  3. 42

  1. Knowledge of and attitudes toward severe acute respiratory syndrome among a cohort of dental patients in Hong Kong following a major local outbreak
  2. 43
  3. 48

  1. Conversion tables for the Corah and Modified Dental Anxiety Scales
  2. 49
  3. 54

  1. An audit of paediatric dental treatments carried out under general anaesthesia in a sample of Spanish patients
  2. 55
  3. 58

  1. BASCD Survey report
  2. 59
  3. 63