Evaluation of a sealant intervention program among Taiwanese aboriginal schoolchildren

摘要

Background/purposeThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the caries prevention effect of pit-and-fissure sealant application on permanent first molars among Taiwanese aboriginal schoolchildren.Materials and methodsThis study included 270 aboriginal school children aged 6–9 years in Southern Taiwan. They were separated into sealant and control groups with follow-up for 1 year. The sealant group (n?=?122) received fissure sealants on healthy, fully erupted first permanent molars; the control group (n?=?148) received an oral examination with no sealant application. Every 6 months, both groups received an oral examination with flashlights, hand-held mirrors, and explorers. Data were analyzed by a Chi-square test,ttest, and multiple logistic regression.ResultsAfter 1 year, 14 of the 229 first molars treated with sealants were carious and 60 of the 258 molars in the control group were carious. Sealant application was significantly associated (P?