Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Nov-Dec;8(6):508-512.
doi: 10.4103/jispcd.JISPCD_238_18. Epub 2018 Nov 29.

Knowledge Analysis of Pit and Fissure Sealants among the Dental Students of South India

Kranti Kiran Reddy Ealla  1 , Anoop N Kumar  2 , Neeraja Turagam  3 , Sujatha Gopal Sooraparaju  4 , Rahul Masthan Rao Yerrapothu  5 , Manoj Kumar Bhaskaran  6
Affiliations

Knowledge Analysis of Pit and Fissure Sealants among the Dental Students of South India

Kranti Kiran Reddy Ealla et al. J Int Soc Prev Community Dent. 2018 Nov-Dec.

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to assess the level of knowledge and attitudes for pit and fissure sealants among undergraduate Indian dental students.

Materials and methods: A modified questionnaire consisting of 24 items was distributed to 280 undergraduate dental students comprising males and females of different years at MNR Dental College, Sangareddy, India. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square/Fisher's exact tests were used for statistical analysis. The data were computationally tested using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 20, IBM SPSS Statistics software for Windows, Armonk, NY, USA.

Results: With the response rate at 100%, most of the respondents, i.e., 70.4%, were females and the remaining 29.6% were male. Regarding the level of study, 20.8% were in 3rd year, 43.8% in the 4th year, and 16.8% were in 5th year (internship). The respondents showed a reasonable level of knowledge about sealants, mostly being good with the theoretical concepts of the sealants. On the other hand, respondents showed insufficient knowledge about sealants in the clinical practice.

Conclusion: Although a high proportion of undergraduate dental students showed adequate knowledge about dental sealants, there is a lag in putting that knowledge into work during the clinical practice. These findings suggest an urgent need of dental schools to include and/or update their curriculum regarding fissure sealants to reflect modern dental education that concentrates on evidence-based practice in pediatric dentistry and improve the dental health among the future generations by reducing the incidence of caries.

Keywords: Dental students; knowledge; pit and fissure sealants; prevention.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

References

    1. Tomar SL, Reeves AF. Changes in the oral health of US children and adolescents and dental public health infrastructure since the release of the healthy people 2010 objectives. Acad Pediatr. 2009;9:388–95. - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization WHO. Oral Health Surveys: Basic Methods. France: World Health Organization; 2013.
    1. Beauchamp J, Caufield PW, Crall JJ, Donly K, Feigal R, Gooch B, et al. Evidence-based clinical recommendations for the use of pit-and-fissure sealants: A report of the American Dental Association Council on Scientific Affairs. J Am Dent Assoc. 2008;139:257–68. - PubMed
    1. Simonsen RJ. Clinical Applications of the Acid Etch Technique. Chicago: Quintessence Publishing (IL); 1978.
    1. Benzian H, Hobdell M, Holmgren C, Yee R, Monse B, Barnard JT, et al. Political priority of global oral health: An analysis of reasons for international neglect. Int Dent J. 2011;61:124–30. - PMC - PubMed