Questions about dental sealant placement appeared in the Dec.10 issue of RDH eVillage, and 143 readers participated in the survey.
The answers provided by the readers resulted in the percentages below.
Does your office place sealants?
- 96 percent answered “yes.”
Do you consider bisphenol A (Bis-GMA) to be an issue when choosing a type of dental sealant?
- 36% answered “yes.”
- 37% answered “no.”
- 27% answered “I'm not aware of any issue.”
When choosing a sealant, which of the following factors do you consider? (Readers were allowed to choose more than one answer, hence the percentage breakdowns; also, readers were invited to submit additional criteria, which some did.)
- 70% selected “perceived durability.”
- 57% selected “fluoride-release.”
- 54% selected “moisture tolerance.”
- 32% selected “cost.”
- 21% selected [the presence of] “bisphenol A (Bis-GMA)”
The exact words “ease of use” appeared with five of the optional write-in answers, so obviously that choice should have been included in the survey. Other comments with this question included:
- “Tooth colored”
- “Not allowed to do sealants in our office.”
- “Viscosity.”
- “I do not get to choose sealants.”
- “Dentist wants to switch to cheapest — grrrr...”
- “Product would outweigh cost.”
Does your office do a fissurotomy prior to sealant placement?
- 43% answered, “Never.”
- 37% answered, “up to 25% of the time.”
- 12% answered, “up to 50% of the time.”
- 0% answered, “up to 75% of the time.”
- 8% answered, “Almost always.”
Who places sealants in your office?
- 88% answered, “dental hygienist.”
- 60% answered “dentist.”
- 16% answered “certified dental assistant.”
- 5% answered, “expanded function hygienists.”
Does your office use adjunctive caries diagnostics? (Technology has been developed to determine the presence of caries, usually at earlier stages, and these instruments are commonly referred to as adjunctive caries diagnostics.)
- 28% answered, “Yes.”
- 67% answered, “No.”
- 5% answered, “not sure.”
