Caries Risk in Formerly Sealed Teeth

ABSTRACT Background The authors examined the risk of caries development in teeth with partially or fully lost sealant (formerly sealed [FS] teeth) relative to the risk in teeth that never have received sealants (never-sealed [NS] teeth). Methods The authors searched the population of studies used in...

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Published in:The Journal of the American Dental Association (1939) Vol. 140; no. 4; pp. 415 - 423
Main Authors: Griffin, Susan O., PhD, Gray, Shellie Kolavic, DMD, Malvitz, Dolores M., DrPH, Gooch, Barbara F., DMD, MPH
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: England Elsevier Inc 01-04-2009
Am Dental Assoc
American Dental Association
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Summary:ABSTRACT Background The authors examined the risk of caries development in teeth with partially or fully lost sealant (formerly sealed [FS] teeth) relative to the risk in teeth that never have received sealants (never-sealed [NS] teeth). Methods The authors searched the population of studies used in five reviews of sealant effectiveness as established in split-mouth design studies involving resin-based sealants with no reapplication of lost sealant. They required included studies to contain sufficient data to estimate the risk of caries in FS teeth relative to that in NS teeth ( relative   risk   [ RR ] = %   FS   developing   caries %   NS   developing   caries ) and its 95 percent confidence interval (CI). To estimate the mean RR by year since sealant placement, they used a weighted bivariate model and tested for heterogeneity using the quantity I. Results The weighted mean RR was 0.998 (95 percent CI, 0.817–1.220) one year after placement (four studies, 345 tooth pairs) and 0.936 (95 percent CI, 0.896–0.978) at four years (five studies, 1,423 tooth pairs). Conclusions Teeth with fully or partially lost sealant were not at a higher risk of developing caries than were teeth that had never been sealed. Clinical Implications Inability to provide a retention-check examination to all children participating in school sealant programs because of loss to follow-up should not disqualify a child from receiving sealants.
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ISSN:0002-8177
1943-4723
DOI:10.14219/jada.archive.2009.0190