Factors Related to Short-term Retention of Sealant in Permanent Molar Teeth Provided in the School Mobile Dental Clinic, Songkhla Province, Southern Thailand

Abstract

ABSTRACT

The aim of the study was to determine factors affecting the short term retention of sealant provided by mobile dental clinics to Thai schoolchildren in the southern region of Thailand. The study was carried out in Songkhla from April 2008 to February 2009. The survey was conducted 6 months after the application of sealant. 347 teeth of 206 grade 1 schoolchildren were examined for retention of sealant. Retention of sealant was classified into two categories: full retention and loss of sealant retention. The respective percentages were 67.7 and 33.3. The result from logistic regression showed that significant factors affected the short term retention including the position of teeth (odds ratio = 2.10), the presence of assistance (odds ratio = 2.29) and the checking procedure after the application of sealant (odds ratio = 2.75). The improvement of sealant retention could be applied by reallocating dental manpower and sealant training to emphasize sealant checking procedure.

Key words: Short-term sealant retention, factors, mobile dental clinic