“What are sealants? Are they really advisable?”
I recently heard that sealants are a great way to protect teeth against cavities. Is this true?
13 Answers
SEALANTS are a good investment. Some insurance companies will pay for the first application. There are restrictions. They are now placing SEALANTS on adults. When SEALANTS are placed, there are some precautions. Chewing sticky candy, gum chewing, ice chewing. Most insurance companies will not pay to replace one. You can see that children have to be watched. Good home care--flossing, brushing, and regular checkups with flouride treatments are a good investment.
Yes it is true
Definitely, but they must be placed properly. I sealed both my kids' and all my grandkids' teeth.
Sealants fill the deep grooves in teeth that food and bacteria get stuck in. They are very effective and advisable.
Sealants are covering placed on permanent molars (the bigger teeth in the back) in hopes of preventing cavities until the patient become proficient with brushing. They are a great preventive measure that we do recommend. No shots are required and tolerated well most of the time.
Yes, sealants help prevent decay on the chewing surfaces of the teeth.
This is correct. Sealants bond to the teeth and protect deep grooves and hard to reach places from bacterial invasion and colonization. Sealants are always recommended in my opinion.
Your back teeth form with tiny grooves running down the centers of the chewing surfaces. These grooves are narrower than tooth brush bristles and unless cleaned and sealed will develop into cavities. A sealant is a hard acrylic plastic that is bonded into the grooves eliminating the places that germs most often hide. I strongly recommend my patients receive sealants at any age and have them replaced as they fall out which will happen periodically - about every ten years.
Teeth have fissures and grooves where cavities start. To prevent bacteria to get in these "spaces" we seal them. Usually done in new permanent teeth.
When the teeth are properly isolated and the proper mixture of monomer and polymer are applied correctly with good clinical judgement, sealants will prove to be valuable addition to insure better dental health and more favorable checkups especially during the Adolescent years when a high incidence of sugar is ingested
Yes!!!! They are a protective coating that goes into the pits and grooves of the permanent molars. They make the teeth “flatter” so that kids that may not brush as well as they should can still effectively clean their teeth. Sealants do not harm the teeth in any way and will eventually wear off. The goal is to keep them in place until the child learns how to brush effectively.
Sealants are made from a low viscosity resin that is flowed into the grooves of back teeth to prevent cavities. Dentistry has been using sealants to seal out decay for over 30 years. Many practitioners still routinely use sealants to prevent decay. In my practice I tend to not to do sealants until I believe the child is at an increased risk for decay. Sealants are safe and advisable when used in the right circumstance.
Mike Nussbaum, DDS
Mike Nussbaum, DDS
Yes.
