Sealants
Protecting your teeth from decay is an important preventive measure to promote lifelong dental health. Molars and other chewing surfaces are especially vulnerable to decay, particularly in children who are often less effective at cleaning their own teeth and more susceptible to tooth decay. To help protect these teeth and prevent tooth decay and cavities, we often recommend dental sealants.
Protecting Your Teeth
Dental sealants are an important part of an overall preventive treatment plan for children, and they are also sometimes recommended for adults. The procedure is simple and involves applying plastic coatings on the chewing surfaces of permanent back teeth. Once applied, the sealants keep bacterial plaque and food sugars out of the deep grooves of the molar teeth. Sealants can last for years and typically will help protect a child’s teeth during the period when biting surface decay normally occurs. Sealants are a part of a total prevention program that includes regular dental visits, use of fluoride, daily brushing and flossing, and limiting sugary foods and drinks.
Sealants Can Prevent Cavities
It can be hard for small children—and even teenagers—to brush and floss their teeth properly, especially when it comes to crevice-filled molars. Dental sealants offer an effective strategy to prevent cavities for kids.
Dental sealants are a semi-permanent plastic coating typically applied to molars. They create a protective barrier that prevents bacteria from lodging in the grooves in the teeth. And while some parents are concerned about exposing their children to BPA in sealants, just breathing air outdoors exposes your child to 100 times more BPA than the amount in sealants. And most sealants last for years and years before reapplication is needed.
Request an appointment with a family dentist you can trust at a Park Dental location near you.