Knowledge, Attitude and Practice about Pit and Fissure Sealants among Private General Dental Practitioners in Kerala

Abstract Background: The use of pit and fissure sealants continues to be less popular among dentists even after 5 decades of its inception as a preventive measure in caries-susceptible areas of tooth. Despite the large dentist population ratio in Kerala, the caries prevalence is high. In this context, the study was conducted. Aims: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice about pit and fissure sealants among private general dental practitioners in Kerala and to discuss its relevance. Subjects and Methods: A close-ended pre-validated questionnaire comprising 31 questions was circulated among 100 private practicing general dental practitioners through social media with the help of the Google Form platform. Results: Seventy-two per cent of the practitioners agreed that the effectiveness of fissure sealants is supported by strong scientific evidence. Fifty-two per cent of the study participants think that this procedure takes time to do correctly, and 50% of the dentists sometimes avoid dental sealants for the possibility of sealing over caries. Conclusions: The study concludes that though majority of the dental practitioners have knowledge about sealants and their technique, they think that the technique is time-consuming and at the same time finds it difficult to justify cost to the patient’s parents. Fifty per cent avoid sealants in their practice. Hence, the need of the hour is to create awareness among parents and at the same time collaborate with governmental bodies to reach the underprivileged group.