There are several options for applying dental sealants in a school setting: (1) setting up a dental clinic within a school-based health center, (2) outfitting a mobile van with dental equipment, or (3) using portable dental equipment in the school.
Some health centers are located at schools. These centers are designed to serve students who have limited access to care as well as those from families with low incomes who are uninsured or underinsured. Services provided in school-based health centers emphasize prevention as well as early identification and treatment of physical and behavioral health concerns. Each school-based health program is different, but services may include
Permanent and temporary dental clinics have been set up in some school-based health centers. Often, clinics offer preventive (including dental sealants) and restorative oral health care to students enrolled in the school. Permanent school-based dental clinics typically use fixed equipment similar to that found in a private dental practice. Temporary clinics can be outfitted with portable equipment or a combination of fixed and portable equipment.
The cost of outfitting a dental sealant program in an existing school-based dental operatory is comparable to if not slightly lower than that of outfitting a portable school-based dental sealant program. Often the equipment in an existing clinic is secondhand or donated, particularly if traditional equipment is used. As noted previously, however, fixed school-based clinics can offer preventive and restorative oral health care. A dentist or dental therapist provides restorative care and will need additional equipment and supplies (e.g., hand pieces, X-ray machines, restorative material). These added staffing and equipment requirements significantly increase program costs.
Often, working conditions in fixed school-based dental clinics are better controlled than those in portable school-based dental sealant programs, where the oral health team often works in hallways, gymnasiums, or other high-traffic locations. In fixed clinics, equipment does not have to be transferred from one school to another, which eliminates the extra time and effort needed to break down, pack, transport, unpack, and set it up in a new location.
However, fixed school-based dental clinics lack the flexibility of portable school-based dental sealant programs. Students from other schools in the district must be transported to fixed clinics for placement of dental sealants. This requires escorting them on foot or transporting them by bus or van to the clinic site. Usually, a group of students are transported to the clinic at one time, and they stay at the clinic until every student’s work is complete. This allows for an efficient workflow within the dental clinic, but it keeps students outside the classroom for much longer than would be necessary if sealants were applied in their home school using portable equipment.
