Dental Sealants: How They Can Save Your Smile
Dental Sealants: As much as we’d love to have good oral health by only brushing, it’s not enough. The truth is that dental hygiene routines do help keep your teeth safe, but you’re still vulnerable to decay and cavities. Because of this, solutions like sealants can be incredibly beneficial for keeping teeth strong and healthy for a long time.
If you still have teeth without any signs of decay or you’re looking for ways to save your kid’s smile, stick around to learn more about dental sealants and how they can help you save precious time and money by protecting your oral health.
What Are Dental Sealants?
Dental sealants are thin coatings for your teeth that provide a layer of protection and help prevent tooth decay. Most sealants are placed in the molar teeth. Why? Because your molars have tiny grooves, they are perfect for food and plaque to get stuck. If that wasn’t enough, your toothbrush’s bristles can’t always reach into these dark, wet grooves to get them cleaned, which creates ideal circumstances for tooth decay to flourish and keep developing.
Sealants fill up the minor grooves and create a smoother, easier-to-clean surface that stops plaque from accumulating and prevents decay. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, dental sealants reduce the risk of decay by 80% in your back teeth. A sealed tooth is significantly less likely to get harmful cavities that will only cost you expensive treatments and pain in the future.
This is especially important for children, as they do not always have the best oral habits, and their new teeth don’t have the same resistance as adult teeth.
Who Is a Good Candidate for Sealants?
Sealants benefit children and adults, but the sooner you receive them, the better. That’s why they’ll likely have a better effect on children and teenagers (ages 6 to 14). Sealing the first molars as soon as they emerge can help prevent many cavities from developing, which will benefit their oral health and finances in the long term. However, if you’re seeking this treatment for yourself and are wondering, “Can adults get dental sealants?” The answer is yes! You can still use dental sealants if you don’t have decay or fillings on the teeth you want to protect.
What Is The Procedure for Applying Sealants?
Fortunately for both children and adults, getting these coatings is quick, easy, and painless. Here are the steps:
1.- Your dentist will thoroughly clean your tooth surface by brushing it.
2.- Then, they’ll apply an acidic liquid on the chewing surface of your tooth for a couple of seconds and then rinse it off (this will help the sealant attach to the tooth).
3.- Once your tooth is dry, your dentist will apply the sealant as a liquid and harden it with a light afterward.
When the sealant dries, it’s ready and safe for you to eat and speak as usual. Remember to brush and floss regularly to ensure your smile is as protected as possible.
4 Advantages of Dental Sealants
Let’s sum up the advantages and benefits of this treatment:
- Pain-free
- They aren’t noticeable
- Don’t require drilling or anesthesia
- They’re durable and can last for about 2 to 7 years or more
Although sealants can last a long time, you should visit your dentist at least twice a year to see how they’re doing. This way, you can monitor their tear and wear and determine how long they will serve you until you need a replacement if you wish to do so.
How Safe Are Dental Sealants?
As always, safety goes first. We know that you likely want any treatment for you, or especially children, to be as safe as possible. When it comes to the safety of dental sealants, the biggest issue is BPA.
BPA is an artificial substance you can usually find in plastics. It’s a problem because large doses of it can be lethal to humans. Also, dental sealants are made of plastic, so specific residues of the BPA component can be found in them.
Given that you’ll probably carry sealants for a few years, it’s natural to be concerned about how much exposure you’ll have to the chemical. That said, the American Dental Association has determined that the quantity of BPA present in oral sealants is very low. This means you’re more likely to be exposed to large amounts of BPA in your daily life than by getting sealants.
In conclusion, they’re pretty safe; you can trust them to keep your teeth safe and sound. Nowadays, you can keep your teeth until you grow old. Although the most significant part depends on you, treatments like sealants can save your oral health and finances. Contact us for more information on dental sealants and to learn about other treatments you might not know you need. We’ll have one of our experts call you!