Sealants for children having decayed teeth extracted under GA: v 1.0

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  A pilot study to investigate the use of pit and fissure sealants in children requiring caries related dental extractions under a chair general anaesthetic (GA)

• IRAS ID

  148667

• Contact name

  Abida Raja

• Contact email

  a.raja@bham.ac.uk

• Research summary

  Children requiring general anaesthesia (GA) to have decayed teeth extracted (removed) remain ‘at risk’ of decay, including in any new permanent (adult) teeth. This study is about preventing caries (decay) in children’s teeth, following removal of already decayed teeth under GA.
  One way to prevent decay in permanent back teeth is to carry out ‘sealants'.
  Sealants are protective plastic coatings placed on the chewing surfaces of back teeth to help prevent decay. They are usually applied to permanent molar teeth shortly after the teeth come through (i.e. around 6 to 8 years of age for the first permanent molar teeth) and protect the surface by keeping debris out of the grooves. Scientific evidence shows sealants are effective.
  They are normally applied by dental professionals in surgeries. However, many children miss out on sealants: either because they don’t visit the dentist regularly or they may be too anxious. Also, some dentists don’t provide sealants.
  Our aim is to assess the feasibility and inform the planning of a definitive randomised controlled clinical trial (RCCT) to investigate the efficacy of sealing permanent molars during the pre-GA assessment visit, in children requiring caries related extractions under GA (at the Birmingham Dental Hospital).
  In order to achieve this, we intend to carry out a randomised controlled pilot study to compare sealant versus no sealant on permanent molar teeth of children (aged 5 to 15 years) requiring extractions under GA. 50 children will be recruited to each group and followed up for 2 years.
  Outcome measures include: recruitment and retention rates, provisional data on caries rates and sealant retention, acceptability of treatment, dental care provided by providers outside the study

• REC name

  West Midlands - South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  14/WM/1007

• Date of REC Opinion

  23 Jun 2014

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion