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Knowledge Attitude and Practice of Dentists Regarding Pit and Fissure Sealants in Suburbs of Chennai, India

V. Sutharshana, Deepa Gurunathan, Shanmugavel Karthikeyan

Introduction: Pit and fissure caries are initiated in the areas where developmental pits and fissures are located on the tooth surface. Sealants are a thin coating painted on the chewing surfaces of teeth usually the premolars and molars to prevent caries. The sealant bonds to the depressions and fissures of the teeth, forming protective shield over the enamel of each tooth.

Methods: In this study 11-questions pretested questionnaire was used to a convenience sample of general dentists (n = 100) in suburbs of Chennai. The study was conducted to assess dentists’ levels of evidence-based clinical knowledge and their attitude towards pit and fissure sealants.

Results: Most of the dentists participated were who graduated within 5 years, and 91% of them received dental sealant education in their pre-doctoral dental curriculum. 83% of them answered to detection and management of incipient lesions incorrectly. A statistically significant difference was found between postgraduates and undergraduates regarding knowledge about guidelines of usage of sealants, sensitiveness of placement technique, need for frequent replacement and difficulty in caring for children.

Conclusion: Most of the dentists who participated in this study had sealant education in their pre-doctoral curriculum and had high levels of positive attitudes on sealant usage in clinical practice. However, dentists knowledge on appropriate usage of sealants was low.