The rates at which Japanese dentists recommended sealants varied widely in a study presented last week at the 2016 American Association of Dental Research (AADR) annual meeting in Los Angeles.
"Recommending a sealant was significantly related to the dentist having a higher belief about the effectiveness of caries risk assessment," concluded the researchers from Japan, Florida, and Alabama.
The study included almost 200 dentists who reported that they practiced some restorative dentistry. These dentists were sent a series of three clinical photographs of the occlusal surface of a mandibular first molar. These photographs showed portraying increasing depths of cavitation and also had a description attached. The researchers then asked about the treatment decision for the case, which had a 12-year-old patient with a high caries risk.
Recommendations of sealants for the patient varied from 16% to 26%, the study authors reported. Sealants were recommended by 19% of dentists in the absence of dark brown pigmentation. Almost half recommended sealants to more than 25% of patients ages 6 to 18.
The authors reported that "analysis suggested that the dentist's belief in the effectiveness of caries risk assessment was significantly associated with the percentage of patients who would receive sealants."
