The Cost-effectiveness of Dental Preventive interventions (fissure sealant & flouride varnish) in Elementary School Children

Abstract

Abstract Objective: Evaluating the effectiveness of preventive interventions in order to prioritize them at the community level, as well as considering the cost of the above measures is essential. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness(97) of fluoride varnish and fissure sealant in children aged 6-12 years. Materials and Methods: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane library and Scopus databases using Fluoride Varnish, Fissure Sealant, Caries, Oral Health keywords. The timeframe selected to search for articles is from 2000 to April 2018. In order to collect cost data, the documents available in three dental clinics and the health deputy of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences were used. Results: The systematic study included 9 studies that were studied in the intervention group 82732 and in the control group 9,929 people. Eight studies were RCT and one was non-RCT. Out of 5 FV studies, 4 were completely effective, 1 was ineffective and all 4 FS studies were completely effective. There was a significant difference between DMFT and dmft indices in both intervention and comparison groups. The average cost per DMFT and dmft was 4225370 and 9995530 Rials, respectively and the ratio of benefit to cost was 6.04. Conclusion: Due to the effect of fissure sealants and fluoride varnish in preventing tooth decay and the cost-effectiveness of fluoride varnish in children aged 6-12 years, these interventions can be considered as community health priorities and health system interventions in countries.