Dental Sealants Resources
Infection Prevention and Control Resources
Infection Control Considerations for Dental Services in Sites Using Portable Equipment or Mobile Vans - Site Analysis (Site Assessment Worksheet, 2021)
OSAP Infection Control Checklist for Dental Programs Using Mobile Vans or Portable Dental Equipment
Summary of Infection Prevention Practices in Dental Settings: Basic Expectations for Safe Care
Best Practices in Dental Infection Prevention and Control
Basic Expectations for Safe Care Training Modules
Foundations: Building the Safest Dental Visit
Dental Sealant Resources
Colorado School-based Oral Health Program One Pager: The Colorado Oral Health Unit created a one-page infographic for their program's newsletter to promote school-based oral health that includes school sealant information. Colorado Prevention Services Division. (October 2022)
West Virginia School-based Oral Health Program One Pager - The West Virginia Oral Health Program created a one-page infographic to promote school-based oral health programs for students in PreK through 12th grade. West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. (July 2022)
Dental Sealants: A Resource Guide (5th ed.) - Dental sealants are highly effective in preventing tooth decay. Sealants protect the chewing surfaces from cavities by covering them with a protective shield that blocks out germs and food. This guide from the National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center (OHRC) at Georgetown University, features materials on policy, practice guidance, professional education and training, public education, and state and local programs to help promote the use of dental sealants. Three entries explore the implications of dental sealant placement during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also includes descriptions of organizations that can provide additional support. (June 2021)
ASTDD Dental Sealant Standardization Training - This ASTDD developed PowerPoint presentation is designed to train and/or assist dental providers with standardizing the process of selecting teeth for sealant placement. The training includes a didactic presentation to assist with tooth selection criteria using clinical photographs for dental providers. Both the PowerPoint and pretest/post-test presentations are meant to be used for information dissemination and to show clinical examples of sound, cavitated, and non-cavitated lesions on tooth surfaces. (February 2020).
Dental Sealants Standardization Training Template
Pre/Post Test Quiz (February 2020)
State Dental Screening Laws for Children: Examining the Trend and Impact (January 2019)
Compendium of Dental Sealant Resources (April 2023)
When Regulations Block Access to Oral Health Care, Children at Risk Suffer: The School Dental Sealant Program Dilemma: A strong research base finds that dental sealants are highly effective in preventing tooth decay. Sealants can reduce the risk of decay in permanent molars-the teeth most prone to cavities-by 80 percent in the first two years after application and continue to be effective after more than four years. Yet most low-income children-who are least likely to receive routine dental care-lack sealants. This report describes the nature of the barriers that affect school dental sealant program expansion and includes examples of states where Pew has confirmed they exist. The report's appendix provides more detail on the perceptions of state dental directors. (August 2018)
School-Based Dental Sealant Programs Curriculum: The National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center has just completed School-Based Dental Sealant Programs (2nd ed.), a series of five online modules that offer continuing education credits or a completion certificate. The modules provide detailed guidelines for infection control in school-based programs; discuss tooth selection and assessment for dental sealants; review the dental-sealant-application process; and provide information about program operations, with an emphasis on the specific requirements that apply to programs funded by the Ohio Department of Health. (July 2018)
Ohio Department of Health School-based Dental Sealant Program Manual provides information and standards for school-based sealant programs funded by the Ohio Department of Health. (May 2023)
School-based Dental Sealant Programs Best Practice Approach Report (October 2022)
An Assessment of Mobile and Portable Oral Dentistry Programs to Improve Population Oral Health: The Oral Health Workforce Research Center (OHWRC) at the Center for Health Workforce Studies (CHWS) at the University at Albany's School of Public Health completed a research project to assess the contributions of mobile and portable dentistry programs to increased access to oral health services. The project used a qualitative methodology and included case studies of 7 organizations across the United States that were providing oral health services in a mobile or portable format. (August 2017)
Children's Dental Health Project Sealant Workgroup Recommendations: The Children's Dental Health Project Sealant Work Group, a 13-member panel of experts, has released a national report. The report offers 16 recommendations to strengthen the operations and sustainability of School-based Sealant Programs. (April 2017)
Seal America: The Prevention Intervention: This manual, produced by the American Association of Community Dental Programs and the National Material and Child Oral Health Resource Center is designed to assist health professionals in initiating and implementing a school-based dental sealant program. Staff of established programs may also find the manual of interest as they work to improve specific aspects of their programs. (2016)
