Key points
Data sources
Dental sealants are a well-accepted clinical intervention to prevent tooth decay. School-age children (ages 6-11) without dental sealants have almost 3 times more cavities in their first molars than those with dental sealants. Children from families with low incomes experience a higher incidence of dental caries than their higher-income counterparts. Hartford county, one of the counties with the lowest sealant prevalence, has been the focus of the school sealant program funded through CDC for the 2019/2020 school year. It is hopeful that this will improve the sealant prevalence in the future.
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Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (2016-2018); CT State Department of Education (2018-2019 school year); SEAL CT! Programs funded by CDC for the 2019-2020 school year.
Dental Sealant prevalence by county was obtained from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, three years of data were combined to account for low numbers. A randomly selected adult provides responses to the child health questions if there is a child under 18 years old living in the house. Graduated Color Scheme was used to display prevalence of dental sealants by quantiles. A darker shade indicates low prevalence of dental sealants. School addresses were geocoded for the SEAL CT! Programs.
Lisa Budris, Epidemiologist 2, Connecticut Department of Public Health
Lisa.budris@ct.gov
860-509-7840
The Connecticut Office of Oral Health receives funding from CDC to expand school-based sealant programs. One criterion for the school-based program to receive funds is that 50% or more of students at the schools they provide services to must receive FARM. The school-based dental programs are expected to expand their services by providing sealants in new schools. This map may help bring attention to areas in the state without schools offering sealant programs or are high need based on low sealant prevalence.
Budris, Lisa, Connecticut Department of Public Health. Accessed from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Chronic Disease Map Gallery.