March 2019

Volume 36, Issue 1

The acceptability of fluoride varnish and fissure sealant treatments in children aged 6-9 delivered in a school setting

Authors: S. Morgan-Trimmer B.L.Chadwick Hutchings S. C. Scoble C. Lisles C.J. Drew S. Murphy T. Pickles K. Hood I.G. Chestnutt
doi: 10.1922/CDH_4263Morgan-Trimmer06

Abstract

Objective: To assess the acceptability of fluoride varnish and fissure sealant treatments for children. To investigate the acceptability of delivering this treatment in a school setting for children, parents, clinicians and school staff. Basic research design: Semi-structured interviews (with children, parents, clinicians and school staff) and a questionnaire (for school staff) as part of a two-arm, randomised clinical trial. Participants: Children aged 6-9, their parents, clinical staff and school staff. Interventions: Fluoride varnish or fissure sealant was delivered to children from the ages of 6 to 9 years for 36 months, by a community dental service in a school setting. Fluoride varnish was re-applied every 6 months; fissure sealant was applied once to first permanent molars and re-applied as required. Results: Interviews with children a few days after treatment indicated little difference in preference; acceptability at this point was driven by factors such as finding it fun to visit ‘the van’ (i.e. mobile dental unit) and receiving a “sticker” rather than specific treatment received. Interviews with parents, clinicians and school staff indicated high acceptability of delivering this type of intervention in a school setting; this may have been partly due to the service being delivered by a well-established, child-oriented community dental service which delivered the clinical trial. Conclusions: Preventive fluoride varnish and fissure sealant treatments in a school setting has high overall acceptability. Keywords: Preventive treatment; dental caries; qualitative study; fissure sealants; fluoride varnish; children; health inequality; school based prevention

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Other articles in this issue

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Editorial ‘No simple solutions, no single ingredient’: Systems-orientated approaches for addressing Wicked Problems in population oral health 3-4 Download
Dental Public Health in Action: The use of the NICE ten step model to conduct an oral health needs assessment in South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw 5-8 Download
Caries-preventive efficacy of a supervised school toothbrushing programme in Northland, New Zealand 9-16 Download
Socioeconomic Variation in the association between Malocclusion and Oral Health Related Quality of Life 17-21 Download
Low rates of dental attendance by the age of one and inequality between local government administrative areas in England 22-26 Download
The relationship between body mass index and oral health status among Saudi adults: a cross-sectional study 27-32 Download
The acceptability of fluoride varnish and fissure sealant treatments in children aged 6-9 delivered in a school setting 33-38 Download
Interventions to reduce socio-economic inequalities in dental service utilisation – a systematic review 39-45 Download
Embarrassing realities: The portrayal of dentistry in reality tv ‘dentertainment’ 46-54 Download
Systems science and oral health: Implications for Dental Public Health? 55-62 Download
The Boundaries between Caries and Periodontal Diseases. What are the Implications for Education in Dental Public Health? Proceedings of EADPH/SESPO Pre-Congress Workshop held on Wednesday, 17 October 2018 at The Centro Cultural Sa Nostra Congress Cen 63-86 Download

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