Cost-effectiveness, in a randomized trial, of glass-ionomer-based and resin sealant materials after 4 yr.
This study, conducted from a government program perspective, compared the incremental cost-effectiveness of oral health interventions, in particular their delivery to underserved populations in whom dental sealants constitute an important, high-yielding complement to toothbrushing in dental-caries prevention. The study data concern the relative cost-effectiveness of three sealant materials in four approaches to prevent cavitated dentine carious lesions in permanent molars in a community intervention trial among school-age children in Wuhan, China. The four approaches were high-viscosity glass-ionomer cement without heat application (HVGIC); high-viscosity glass-ionomer cement with heat application [light-emitting diode (LED) thermocured HVGIC]; glass-carbomer; and composite resin. The costs studied were: cost of sealing permanent molars; adverse event costs for restoring cavitated dentine carious lesions developing within 4 yr in study data; and projections of 1,000 sealants per group. Preventing one more cavitated dentine carious lesion cost US$105 for the study data when comparing HVGIC (n = 405) with composite resin (n = 396) and US$59 per 1,000 sealants in the projections; LED thermocured HVGIC compared with composite resin cost US$115 for one more cavitated lesion and US$52 per 1,000 sealants, respectively. Although more expensive than composite resin, LED thermocured HVGIC was identified as the most cost-effective among the sealant materials studied. Ease of application, minimal technical and infrastructure requirements, and cost-effectiveness make glass-ionomers a practicable option for governments making decisions under economic constraints.
Department of Oral Function and Prosthetic Dentistry, College of Dental Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands. annieg@gwu.edu.
Ann S
AS
Goldman
Key Laboratory for Oral Biomedical Engineering, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
Xi
X
Chen
Key Laboratory for Oral Biomedical Engineering, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
Mingwen
M
Fan
Department of Oral Function and Prosthetic Dentistry, College of Dental Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Jo E
JE
Frencken
D001031:Apatites; D002681:China; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005899:Glass Ionomer Cements / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D010895:Pit and Fissure Sealants
D001031:Apatites; D005899:Glass Ionomer Cements; D010895:Pit and Fissure Sealants; C586142:glass carbomer cement
China; caries; prevention; sealant