New white paper highlights benefits of dental sealants

Sealants are effective in preventing and arresting pit-and-fissure/occlusal carious lesions of primary and permanent molars in children and adolescents, according to a new white paper from the ADA Council on Advocacy for Access and Prevention.

The paper, Dental Sealants and Disease Prevention Points for Providers, covers prevention, quality and efficacy measures for sealants. It was developed by the council's Advisory Committee on Dental Sealants, chaired by Irene Hilton, D.D.S.

Key takeaways from the paper include that sealants can minimize the progression of non-cavitated occlusal carious lesions that receive a sealant and there does not appear to be an advantage of one type of sealant material over the others.

Dental sealants were the focus of February's National Children's Dental Health Month, with the theme, Sealants Make Sense.

The ADA presented a webinar Feb. 22 highlighting the latest data on sealant placement prevalence and explaining the difference between dental decay and dental caries. Speakers included Dr. Hilton; Susan Sergie, D.M.D., pediatric dentist, Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation Dental Department; and Katie Kosten, D.M.D., director of community dentistry, Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine.

To download the webinar, visit ADA.org.