title: School-Based Dental Sealant Programs Prevent Cavities And Are Cost-Effective.
abstract: Untreated cavities can have far-reaching negative consequences for people's ability to eat, speak, and learn. By adolescence, 27 percent of low-income children in the United States will have untreated cavities. School-based sealant programs typically provide dental sealants (a protective coating that adheres to the surface of molars) at little or no cost to students attending schools in areas with low socioeconomic status. These programs have been shown to increase the number of students receiving sealants and to prevent cavities. We analyzed the cost-effectiveness of school sealant programs using data (from school programs in fourteen states between 2013 and 2014) on children's cavity risk, including the effects of untreated cavities on a child's quality of life. We found that providing sealants in school programs to 1,000 children would prevent 485 fillings and 1.59 disability-adjusted life-years. School-based sealant programs saved society money and remained cost-effective across a wide range of reasonable values.
authors.affiliation: Susan Griffin (sig1@cdc.gov) is a health economist in the Division of Oral Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Griffin
authors.affiliation: Shillpa Naavaal is an assistant professor in pediatric dentistry at Virginia Commonwealth University, in Richmond.
authors.forename: Shillpa
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Naavaal
authors.affiliation: Christina Scherrer is a professor in the Department of Systems and Industrial Engineering at Kennesaw State University, in Georgia.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Scherrer
authors.affiliation: Paul M. Griffin is a professor in the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, in Atlanta.
authors.forename: Paul M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Griffin
authors.affiliation: Kate Harris is a health communications specialist in the Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services at the CDC.
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.affiliation: Sajal Chattopadhyay is an economist in the Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services at the CDC.
authors.forename: Sajal
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chattopadhyay
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D010895:Pit and Fissure Sealants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011203:Poverty; D012574:Schools; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D010895:Pit and Fissure Sealants
keywords: Cost Effectiveness; Dental Sealants; School