The purpose of this survey was to assess periodontists\u27 attitudes toward pit and fissure sealants as an oral health service. A self-designed, 43-item questionnaire and a letter of transmittal were mailed to a random sample of periodontists belonging to the American Academy of Periodontics (N=S00). Data were obtained from 288 returned questionnaires (58 percent).
Data analysis suggested that periodontists\u27 attitudes have changed over the past nine years in that: (1) more periodontists are assigning a high value of pit and fissure sealants in preventing dental caries, (2) more periodontists are using pit and fissure sealants to prevent dental caries, and (3) more auxiliaries are placing pit and fissure sealants. Findings also suggested that minor variations exist in usage of sealants among younger and older periodontists, and periodontists who practice in the northeast use sealants slightly more often than others
