Dental Caries and Oral Health Disparities Among Adolescents: A Tale of Second Molar Sealants

Monday, April 7, 2025

2:30 PM - 3:30 PM East Coast USA Time

Location: Sun & Surf

Earn 1.0 CE Credit

Speaker(s)

Shillpa Naavaal, BDS, MS, MPH

Associate Professor
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Christina Scherrer, PhD (she/her/hers)

Senior Associate Dean and Professor
Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology
Kennesaw State University

Moderator(s)

Matt Crespin, MPH, RDH, FADHA (he/him/his)

Executive Director
Children’s Health Alliance of Wisconsin

Disclosure(s):

Shillpa Naavaal, BDS, MS, MPH: No financial relationships to disclose

Christina Scherrer, PhD: No financial relationships to disclose

Matt Crespin, MPH, RDH, FADHA: No financial relationships to disclose

Session Description: Sealants are an effective intervention to reduce dental caries. Still, their prevalence among adolescents is low, with wide gaps in our knowledge about second molar (2M) sealants prevalence, reach, and impact. This session will present information on 2M sealants using data from national surveys and surveys conducted with school-based sealant programs (SBSP) at the state and local levels. The findings will highlight the factors associated with 2M sealant prevalence, illustrate the status of middle school sealant programs in the country, and demonstrate the potential impact of increasing access to 2M sealants through SBSPs on the oral health of adolescents.