According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), tooth decay affects nearly 70 percent of America’s children, before the age of 19! Dental sealants are a highly effective option to help prevent cavities in children. Dental sealants, basically a thin coating over the tooth’s surface, have been proven to be both safe for children prone to cavities and cost effective for parents. Sealing is a simple and painless dental procedure in which the dental surface is isolated from the environment of the oral cavity in order to prevent the formation of cavities. Basically, it covers very deep pits and fissures on the biting surface of molars and premolars, since they have the potential of retaining debris that can not be removed by simple brushing.
Does your child need sealants?
If your child’s on molars and premolars have deep pits and fissures, it’s better to seal them, in order to prevent future or further damage. At the earliest, sealing is recommended 6 months after a teeth’s eruption, on teeth with deep pits and fissures, especially molars and premolars.
The age ranges for sealant application is:
- 3-6 months for primary molars
- 6-7 years for 1st permanent molar
- 11-13 years for 2nd permanent molar and premolars, this varies from child to child.
Indications:
- deep retentive pits and fissures
- patient with high risk of caries
- patient undergoing orthodontic treatment
- yellow/brown stained pit and fissures on the tooth surface
Dental sealants serve as a barrier to seal the cracks and spaces on tooth surfaces from any small food particles or bacteria that may otherwise cause cavities.
The sealing procedure consists of plaque removal, isolating the teeth with a rubber dam, applying an acid solution on dental surface and washing it after 15 seconds, applying the sealant in liquid form and polymerizing it with ultraviolet light for 10-20 seconds. The final step is to check the sealing height by using paper joint. After the procedure is completed, the patient is free to consume food and liquids. If the enamel in pits and fissures is damaged, the affected enamel is removed first, then the normal procedure for sealing is continued.
How Does My Child Take Care Of Sealants?
Alongside brushing twice- daily with fluoridated toothpaste, healthy diet low in sugars and visiting your dentist every 6 months to monitor teeth an existing sealants, dental sealants are 100% effective in preventing cavities in your little one’s mouth. Happy brushing!
