CDC: School-based dental sealant programs yield preventive care in children from low-income families

Thomas R. Frieden

Children from low-income families can receive cavity protection and quality dental care from school-based dental sealant programs, according to a recent CDC Vital Signs report and telebriefing.

“Kids with unmet treatment needs miss more school and have lower grades,” CDC director Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH, said in a telebrief. “Poverty is a major risk factor for having untreated cavities. The bottom line here is that dental sealants prevent 80% of cavities in the back teeth, where 9 in 10 cavities occur. A simple coating painted on to the back teeth can prevent children from getting most cavities.”

School-based programs that provide dental sealants can have a great impact on children with lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Although about 43% of children aged 6 to 11 years have a dental sealant, children from low-income families are reportedly 20% less likely to receive sealants than higher income children. Therefore, school-based programs target areas with a high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-cost lunches, providing preventive care to children more likely to acquire cavities.

“Dental sealants have been referred to as this dental immunization; it’s a way of preventing cavities, which can be painful and expensive,” Frieden said. “When I was a health commissioner in New York City, we expanded these programs; they work, they are effective, they focus on schools with a high percentage of kids who are eligible for free or reduced cost meal programs and they provide sealants for kids who are less likely to get them from their private dentist.”

In addition to school-based sealant programs yielding higher preventive coverage for students, they are financially efficient and reduce Medicaid and competitor insurance dental costs.

“A recent rigorous review showed that school-based programs actually saved money within 2 years,” Frieden said. “And giving children sealants at high-risk for cavities actually reduces Medicaid. Every tooth that gets sealants saves more than $11 in dental treatment costs.

“If we gave sealants to the seven million low-income kids who need them, we could avoid up to $3 million in dental treatment costs.”

The CDC encourages state officials to implement school-based dental programs in their schools, particularly in disadvantaged areas. State officials should connect schools with local health departments, Medicaid and CHIP offices, community health centers and organizations and direct sealant programs to the lowest-income areas of their state.

Currently, the CDC funds 21 public state health departments to provide sealant programs in schools with low-income children in both urban and rural areas.

“As a federal government, we are doing our part in matching for children enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP, encouraging local community health centers and dental programs to start or expand school-based dental programs, funding ways to increase the number of and providing incentives for dentists to practice in underprivileged areas,” Frieden said. – by Kate Sherrer

Disclosure: Frieden reports no relevant financial disclosures.