Media Contact:
Beth Adams, 215-573-8224

Community Oral Health Division Launches Sealant Program

October 16, 2009

This fall, Penn Dental Medicine's Division of Community Oral Health will launch a Community Oral Health Sealant Pilot Program, a new school-based initiative to provide Philadelphia-area second- and sixth-grade students with preventive dental care through the application of dental sealants.

Beginning in mid-November through March during the 2009-2010 academic year, approximately 120 children at Philadelphia's Bryant, Lea, and Wilson Elementary schools will receive care from Penn Dental Medicine students. This is the initial phase of the portable, school-based program, with additional locations to be added in following years. A plastic material applied to the chewing surfaces of molars, sealants act as protective barriers.

"We have seen a fairly extensive need for restorative care in schools though our screening and dental treatment programs," says Dr. Robert Collins, Chief of the Division of Community Oral Health. "Penn Dental Medicine students will now have the opportunity to deliver preventive services within a school setting, in addition to coordinating and working closely with the nurses and Penn Dental Medicine faculty members." The overarching goal of the program is to improve the future of oral health in Philadelphia's communities by preventing dental decay in children.

Members of the Class of 2011, who will participate in the new sealant initiative, were trained in the Department of Community Oral Health from late September through early October. The Sealant Pilot Program instruction also included learning to operate portable dental equipment, consisting of non-motorized and fully-adjustable patient chairs, high-intensity halogen overhead lights, standard dental operating consoles, and stools. Sealant material was donated to the program by Medical Products Inc.

Each day the program operates, six dental students will be split between two operatories accompanied by two or three Penn Dental Medicine faculty members. Sealants take anywhere from 15-30 minutes to complete, and the program expects to treat between eight and 10 children during each school visit. Prior to any treatment, parents of children must grant permission, a process administered by the school nurses.

"This is a wonderful opportunity to take our services directly to children and for Penn Dental Medicine students to get a feel for how valuable their time and work is in local communities, especially when treating those with limited access to dental care," says Jill Ann Klischies, faculty instructor in the Department of Community Oral Health, who is responsible for the primary planning and operation of the program. Dr. Xiaoxian Meng, Adjunct Professor of Community Oral Health, will also be evaluating the program along the way, providing a research aspect to the project.

"I hope the program underscores the importance of prevention to our students, giving them exposure to an additional component of dental community involvement, in addition to school screenings, serving on the Penn Smiles Van, and classroom education programs," says Dr. Collins. "I think the Sealant Pilot Program reflects well our missions of education, research, and service at Penn Dental Medicine."

Read other news stories.