Thank you, Shellie Bailey-Shah, for your unprecedented reporting. May I suggest a couple areas to find out what the 2012 Smile Survey data reveal:
1) How is the dental health of communities with concentrations of naturally-occurring fluoride in their drinking water? This has long been claimed to prevent tooth decay â although no good evidence supports this.
2) What was the effectiveness of dental sealants? The survey says:
â90% of cavities are found in the grooves and crevices of the molars (back teeth). To help prevent this decay, dental sealants (evidence-based intervention) can be applied to the grooves on the chewing surfaces of the back teeth.â (p. 12)
âMost tooth decay (90%) occurs in these grooves and pits. Sealants prevent 65% - 76% of decay in the treated teeth for about 9 years.â (p. 16)
This is important, because for a long time it has been acknowledged by the dental community that fluoride is ineffective in these grooves and crevices, aka pits and fissures, for example:
âEnamel surfaces with pits and fissures receive minimal caries protection from either systemic or topical fluoride agents." â Pediatric Dentistry: Infancy Through Adolescence, 1999
"It is estimated that 84% of the caries experience in the 5 to 17 year-old population involves tooth surfaces with pits and fissures. Although fluorides cannot be expected appreciably to reduce our incidence of caries on these surfaces, sealants can." â Journal of the American Dental Association, Vol. 108, Mar. 1984
Since 2009, the state's Dental Sealant Program seems not to have expanded beyond 140 schools due to lack of funds.
Thank you, Shellie Bailey-Shah, for your unprecedented reporting. May I suggest a couple areas to find out what the 2012 Smile Survey data reveal:
1) How is the dental health of communities with concentrations of naturally-occurring fluoride in their drinking water? This has long been claimed to prevent tooth decay â although no good evidence supports this.
2) What was the effectiveness of dental sealants? The survey says:
â90% of cavities are found in the grooves and crevices of the molars (back teeth). To help prevent this decay, dental sealants (evidence-based intervention) can be applied to the grooves on the chewing surfaces of the back teeth.â (p. 12)
âMost tooth decay (90%) occurs in these grooves and pits. Sealants prevent 65% - 76% of decay in the treated teeth for about 9 years.â (p. 16)
This is important, because for a long time it has been acknowledged by the dental community that fluoride is ineffective in these grooves and crevices, aka pits and fissures, for example:
âEnamel surfaces with pits and fissures receive minimal caries protection from either systemic or topical fluoride agents." â Pediatric Dentistry: Infancy Through Adolescence, 1999
"It is estimated that 84% of the caries experience in the 5 to 17 year-old population involves tooth surfaces with pits and fissures. Although fluorides cannot be expected appreciably to reduce our incidence of caries on these surfaces, sealants can." â Journal of the American Dental Association, Vol. 108, Mar. 1984
Since 2009, the state's Dental Sealant Program seems not to have expanded beyond 140 schools due to lack of funds.
http://www.astdd.org/statepractices/SUM40007ORsealantprogram.pdf