Parental Education on Fissure Sealant: A Literature Review

Fissure sealant therapy is one of the most effective strategies to prevent dental caries. Sealants fill the occlusal grooves of the posterior teeth and prevent the accumulation of microorganisms and subsequent development of caries as such. This study aimed to evaluate parental education on fissure sealant therapy.

A search was conducted in seven international databases or websites including BioMed Central, Google Scholar, PubMed, ProQuest, and Seer, and two national databases (SID and Magiran) for relevant articles on the Iranian population published between 2011 and 2021. Of a total of 3,980 articles retrieved by the initial search, 7 articles were selected with experimental and quasi-experimental designs. The interventions were in the form of educational programs with follow-up sessions, examinations, and preventive services at different times. The variables included knowledge, attitude, self-efficacy, fissure sealant, and dental caries. 

All the tested variables significantly changed after the educational intervention.

According to the results of the reviewed interventional studies in Iran, instruction of oral health-promoting behaviors and fissure sealant therapy to parents has a positive effect on the practice of the parents concerning fissure sealant therapy. It also appears that interventions based on theoretical education and changing behavioral models can be effective in promoting oral health practice.