Dental Sealants for Children

Starting your children off with good habits is important to ensure their health.  Teaching your children to brush their teeth twice a day, floss, and keep dental appointments for cleanings and checkups are just a few of the things you can do to ensure the health of their teeth.  The dentist can treat your children’s teeth with fluoride to help strengthen the enamel and protect against decay and cavities.  There are a few other ways the dentist can help your children’s teeth outside the office too.  When your children are at the dentist, be sure to talk to the dentist about dental sealants.

Dental sealants are a thin coat of plastic applied to the surface of the back teeth.  The special plastic fills in the minute grooves and fissures on chewing area of the tooth to prevent bacteria and plaque from damaging the teeth.  The thin coating can protect the teeth in the places where it is hard to clean with a regular toothbrush.  The molars and other back teeth are the most difficult to keep clean and are the teeth that experience the most wear from chewing the pressure of biting.  The sealants prevent the first few ways teeth can start to degrade.

Often, dentists recommend applying the sealants as soon as the back teeth start to come in through the gums.  When children are six to twelve years old, the permanent molars start to erupt.  As the teeth start to show their chewing surfaces, it is prudent to have the dentist apply the sealant before any long-term damage can happen.

When you talk to the dentist about dental sealants for your children’s teeth and then your children about what to expect from the dental sealant procedure, you can expect it to quick and free from pain on all accounts.  Only the dentist can apply sealants, so you will make an appointment to start.  The dentist does not have to drill or removal any part of any tooth and there is no need for any needles during the procedure.  All the scariest parts of dental procedures are not part of this easy visit.

The dentist will clean the tooth like during a typical visit and then the dentist will dry the tooth.  The dentist will apply a special acidic gel to prepare the surface of the tooth for the sealant.  Once the gel dries, the dentist will apply the resin for the sealant.  The resin will dry on its own to set or the dentist may use a light to help set the resin in place.  The dentist can use a variety of resins and allow for different colors to match the teeth or minimize how noticeable the sealants are once they are in place.  Sealants can be clear, adjusted to match the tooth color or even white so they blend in with your children’s smiles.

You can count on the dental sealants to last anywhere between five and ten years.  The dentist can check on the condition of the sealants during regular checkups and are a great way to keep healthy teeth.

More on Dental Sealants : Dental Sealants for Adults