Pontigo-Loyola América P, Márquez-Corona María de L, Mendoza-Rodríguez Martha, Lucas-Rincón Salvador E, Villalobos-Rodelo Juan J, Casanova-Rosado Alejandro J, Escoffié-Ramírez Mauricio, Islas-Zarazúa Rosalina, Medina-Solís Carlo E, Márquez-Rodríguez Sonia
Academic Area of Dentistry of Health Sciences Institute, Autonomous University of Hidalgo State, Pachuca, MEX.
School of Dentistry, Autonomous University of Sinaloa, Culiacán, MEX.
Cureus. 2025 May 12;17(5):e83980. doi: 10.7759/cureus.83980. eCollection 2025 May.
Background Oral diseases are a public health problem due to their high global prevalence and incidence and their significant health and economic burden. Despite being preventable, dental caries remains the most common chronic disease affecting children and adolescents globally. Caries prevention relies on multifaceted strategies, and pit and fissure sealants (PFS) are a cost-effective intervention, physically preventing biofilm accumulation on occlusal surfaces and thereby reducing caries. The objective of this study was to determine the existence of socioeconomic inequalities in the prevalence of pit and fissure sealant (PFS) use in Mexican adolescents aged 12 and 15 years. Materials and methods An observational, cross-sectional study was conducted in 1,538 Mexican adolescents aged 12 and 15 years. The presence of pit and fissure sealants was determined through a clinical examination and served as the dependent variable. This was dichotomized as follows: 0 = no presence of PFS and 1 = with at least one PFS. A questionnaire was administered to determine a series of independent sociodemographic variables and socioeconomic position (SEP) indicators. Statistical analysis was performed using Fisher's exact test, the chi-square test, and a non-parametric test for trend in Stata 14.0 (StataCorp LLC, College Station, TX). Results By age group, the highest percentage was found to be 15 years old (55.3%, n=850). Regarding sex, 50.1% (n=770) were boys. The prevalence of having any tooth with PFS was 1.3% (n=20). An association was observed between the prevalence of PFS and the SEP variables of education (p=0.047) and occupation (p=0.017). It was also observed that as the socioeconomic status (SES) tertiles increased (from the poorest to the richest), the prevalence of PFS also increased (p<0.05). Similarly, the prevalence of PFS was higher among those who did not always live in the community where they currently resided (2.3%, n=10 versus 0.9%, n=10; p=0.035) and in those who regularly visited the dentist (3.9%, n=9 versus 0.8%, n=11; p=0.001). Conclusions A very low prevalence of PFS use (1.3%, n=20) was observed in this sample of Mexican adolescents. The results suggest the existence of socioeconomic inequalities in the use of PFS and a low level of dental prevention behavior. The data show a clear trend where the use of PFS is much higher among teenagers from wealthier backgrounds compared to those from poorer backgrounds, and this pattern is seen in both education and job-related measures of socioeconomic status. It is necessary to implement PFS placement programs if oral health is to be improved.
背景 口腔疾病因其在全球的高患病率和发病率以及重大的健康和经济负担，成为一个公共卫生问题。尽管龋齿是可预防的，但它仍是全球影响儿童和青少年的最常见慢性病。龋齿预防依赖多方面策略，窝沟封闭剂（PFS）是一种具有成本效益的干预措施，可通过物理方式防止生物膜在咬合面上积聚，从而减少龋齿。本研究的目的是确定墨西哥12岁和15岁青少年使用窝沟封闭剂（PFS）的患病率是否存在社会经济不平等。
材料与方法 对1538名12岁和15岁的墨西哥青少年进行了一项观察性横断面研究。通过临床检查确定窝沟封闭剂的存在情况，并将其作为因变量。将其分为两类：0 = 无PFS，1 = 至少有一个PFS。通过问卷调查确定一系列独立的社会人口统计学变量和社会经济地位（SEP）指标。使用Fisher精确检验、卡方检验和Stata 14.0（StataCorp有限责任公司，德克萨斯州大学站）中的非参数趋势检验进行统计分析。
结果 按年龄组划分，发现最高百分比出现在15岁组（55.3%，n = 850）。按性别划分，50.1%（n = 770）为男孩。有任何牙齿使用PFS的患病率为1.3%（n = 20）。观察到PFS的患病率与教育程度（p = 0.047）和职业（p = 0.017）的SEP变量之间存在关联。还观察到，随着社会经济地位（SES）三分位数的增加（从最贫穷到最富有），PFS的患病率也增加（p < 0.05）。同样，PFS的患病率在那些并非一直居住在其当前所在社区的人群中更高（2.3%，n = 10 对比 0.9%，n = 10；p = 0.035），以及在那些定期看牙医的人群中更高（3.9%，n = 9 对比 0.8%，n = 11；p = 0.001）。
结论 在该墨西哥青少年样本中观察到PFS的使用率非常低（1.3%，n = 20）。结果表明在PFS的使用方面存在社会经济不平等以及口腔预防行为水平较低。数据显示出一种明显的趋势，即来自较富裕背景的青少年使用PFS的比例远高于来自较贫穷背景的青少年，并且这种模式在社会经济地位的教育和与工作相关的衡量指标中均可见。如果要改善口腔健康，有必要实施PFS放置项目。
