Journal of the Bahrain Medical Society
Year 2023, Volume 35, Issue 2, Pages 28-38
https://doi.org/10.26715/jbms.35_2_4Eman Flaihan Alrowaili
BDS, MGDS RCSEd, MSC (DPH), Dental Public Health Consultant, Oral and dental health services, Primary Healthcare Centers, Bahrain. Email: ERowaili@health.gov.bh
Received date: February 06, 2023; Accepted date: March 23, 2023; Published date: June 30, 2023
For tables and figures, please refer to PDF.
Abstract
A situation analysis among which a cross-sectional survey of dental practitioners working in primary healthcare centers found that while 127 (94.8%) out of 134 respondents consider fissure sealants effective yet, most of them have misconceptions regarding which teeth to consider carious and which to seal as only 15 (11.2%) recognized that initial carious and non-cavitated carious lesions are the same and only around half sealed either. Fissure sealants are provided for free in primary healthcare centers, but they seem underutilized as only 35 (37.6%) dentists use them very often. To address these issues and others raised by dentists and dental hygienists on the indications and the use of fissure sealants; evidence-based clinical recommendations are provided keeping in mind the high level of caries among children and adolescents in Bahrain and the services provided in primary healthcare centers. Further studies will be needed to evaluate different reasons affecting dental practitioners' knowledge and use of fissure sealants as a method of preventing and controlling caries.
Keywords: Fissure sealants, non-cavitated carious lesions, initial caries, high risk, prevention, dentists, dental hygienists
Abbreviations used in manuscript: Primary health care centers (PHCC), International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS)