A Dentist’s Guide to Dental Sealants: Are They Right for You?

Dental sealants help prevent cavities when applied to your molars pre-molars. They are also beneficial for treating minor cavities. Whether dental sealants are suitable for you depends on various factors.

For example, your child may have back teeth with smooth chewing surfaces, while another has teeth with nooks and crannies. In addition, while one hole in a tooth might be sealable, the same hole in another child’s mouth may require dental fillings. Therefore it helps if you know why sealants help you decide correctly when considering them for you or your child.

Why Get Dental Sealants?

Dental sealants, also called pits and fissure sealants, help protect against cavities on the molars and the molars soon after erupting. They prevent cavities in children’s teeth to avoid needing dental fillings.

Children between six and 14 are cavity prone when the permanent teeth push out the baby teeth. Parents have minimal control over their child’s diet and dental hygiene practices. The sealants help prevent most holes when applied immediately after the back teeth emerge. The first molars emerge at around six, while the second at 12.

The CDC comments that dental sealants protect against 80 percent of cavities for two years after an application and continue the protection against 50 percent of holes for another four years. Children between six and 11 without sealants on their teeth are three times more likely to develop cavities on their first molars than children with them. The statistics appear striking because when you consider the pain and expenditure of getting dental fillings over time, dental sealants are an effective preventive measure to ensure children don’t develop cavities.

Indicators Confirming Dental Sealants Are Essential

The benefits of dental sealants maximize when they are applied before the occurrence of cavities. Therefore, dentists recommend dental sealants near you in the following circumstances.

• Children’s molars have narrow grooves and fissures on newly erupted permanent back teeth.
• Staining occurs in the grooves and crevices.
• Decay is noticeable in the first permanent molars.
• Children have special needs.
• Extensive decay is noticeable in baby teeth.

Dental sealants are unnecessary if you can prevent decay by supervising your child about proper brushing, flossing, diet, and fluoride treatments. Therefore, besides getting your child dental sealants to prevent cavities, it helps if you watch your child’s eating habits, look for deep grooves and fissures with plenty of nooks and crannies, and supervise your child’s hygiene practices. It would help to consider how much guidance you can provide about oral care.

Dental Sealants for Baby Teeth

With the emergence of permanent teeth, the baby teeth fall out between six and 14. Therefore you may wonder whether your child needs dental sealants on teeth they will eventually lose.

Your decision to have dental sealants on your child’s teeth depends on how likely your child may develop cavities. Children eating plenty of sugary and carbohydrate-rich foods with deep pits and fissures on their molars are candidates for dental sealants. Adults without restorations or decay can also get dental sealants in Baltimore, MD, but may have to pay slightly higher prices to protect their molars.

Children getting dental sealants from the dentist near you benefit from low prices, insurance coverage, and discount plans reducing costs further. Therefore before considering dental sealants for your teeth, it helps if you discuss the fees with the dentist to prevent financial surprises after receiving the treatment.

There is no difference between protecting baby teeth from cavities and permanent teeth because both are essential. Baby teeth are placeholders for permanent teeth, and holes in them can result in misalignment and crowding of the permanent teeth.

Dental Sealants on Existing Cavities

Dental sealants aim to prevent exposure to food, saliva, and other cavity-causing risks. However, the American Association of pediatric dentistry has confirmed that dental sealants can occasionally stop decay. Mouth bacteria find it challenging to cause additional tooth decay under dental sealants when an experienced dentist applies the bonds. The provider’s experience is essential, especially if signs of decay are evident. bacteria

The American Dental Association also confirms that using sealants to treat early signs of tooth decay before it forms a hole helps inhibit cavities if the dentist notices the early symptoms during regular checkups and cleanings. Unfortunately, your child will need a dental filling if the pollution has expanded.

The Eventual Determinant for Dental Sealants: Your Child’s Dentist

Dental sealants need regular monitoring during six monthly exams and cleanings, making it essential for you to inquire with the child’s dentist are sealants or fillings are beneficial for your child’s teeth, home care measures to ensure decay does not remain on the teeth, the frequency of replacements and how often children need follow-ups.

If your child doesn’t have dental sealants on their teeth or an experienced dentist nearby to provide them, consult Canton Crossing Dental today to protect their back teeth and prevent unnecessary expenditure on dental fillings. In addition, do not allow tooth decay to expand by getting your children dental sealants on their molars and pre-molars during the cavity-prone years.