Considerations regarding the sealing of first permanent molars on a lot of pupils from Pitești

Aims. The paper assessed the degree to which pupils of a primary and middle school from Pitești (Romania) had benefited from occlusal sealing before a prevention program and the results obtained after implementing the program. Material and method. A cross-sectional clinical study was performed: the first stage consisted of recording the occlusal status of first permanent molars (FPM) (sound occlusal surface / cavity carious lesion / presence of the sealants) and a training on correct oral hygiene was performed. During the second stage (T2), the occlusal surfaces of FPM were sealed with Voco Fissurit FX (FFX), and during the third stage (T3) a clinical assessment of all sealants was performed, from the point of view of retention and possible occurrence of caries in case the sealant is lost. The data were processed with IBM SPSS Statistics 23. Results. Out of the 748 FPM (99.46% of all possible) present during the initial check (T1) of the 188 pupils included in the study (mean age: 8 years 10 months + 1 year 2 months), 185 (24.73%) of them had occlusal caries, and on 75 (10.02%) of them the sealants were present. During stage T2, 146 children (77.65%) from the initial lot benefited from occlusal sealants of 434 FPM with FFX. During the stage T3 assessment, the total retention rate (TRR) of sealants existing during T1 was of 90.66% and 0% caries, and for FFX sealants, it was of 94.23%, 0.69% respectively. Conclusions. Only one tenth of FPM had benefited, before the study, of occlusal sealants and, by the end of the study, 63.77% FPM were sealed. The high TRR and the extremely low risk of caries in case the sealant is lost encourages us to continue the prevention program started.