Dental Sealants Protecting Children’s Molars from Cavities
Children’s molars are frequently susceptible to tooth decay and cavities and need preventive measures to help them in their battle against this occurrence. Children aren’t particularly diligent with their dental hygiene and often allow plaque to remain on their teeth. Plaque is the leading cause of tooth decay resulting in cavities. Holes created by tooth decay are permanent and, if left untreated, expand. The most common place for the development of niches is the back molars, where the pits and fissures of the back teeth allow food particles and plaque to remain trapped.
Children developing cavities report lost school time, challenges eating, sleeping, and concentrating on regular activities. You can either allow your child to suffer from tooth decay and cavities or visit the dentist near you requesting dental sealant application on their molars. Sealants are a quick, convenient, and painless method of preventing cavities. Teeth without holes are more robust and healthier than a tooth with an untreated cavity or a filling. Sealants are also more affordable than treating children’s teeth for cavities.
Can You Request the Dentist near You to Put Sealants on Your Child’s Teeth?
Cavities are the most common chronic condition among children and teenagers. When left untreated, cavities cause pain, infection, and problems eating, speaking, and learning. Dental sealants are incredibly effective but underutilized barriers protecting children’s teeth from cavities. Therefore there is no reason why you cannot request your neighborhood dentist to put sealants on your child’s teeth.
If you realize that cavities routinely form on the molars, you must visit the dentist with your child around the age of six when the first molars emerge and again around 12 for the second molars. Giving your child the protection they need against cavities with dental sealants helps avoid unnecessary expenditure for treating cavities or other dental problems.
What Are Dental Sealants?
The dentist in North Port, FL, recommends children with deep pits and fissures on their back teeth have sealants applied. Dental sealants are thin protective barriers painted on the molars’ chewing surfaces as a measure to prevent tooth decay.
Even if your child follows an excellent oral hygiene regimen, cleaning the deep grooves on the back teeth’ chewing surfaces is challenging. Food particles and bacterial remain trapped in the furrows where toothbrush bristles cannot reach. The trapping of food particles and bacteria is the leading cause of cavities developing on the tooth’s chewing surfaces.
The North port dentist recommends sealants on children’s molars at the age of six and 12 but may sometimes recommend sealing baby teeth with deep grooves. Babies are also susceptible to tooth decay, especially when they are put to bed with a baby bottle.
Is the Dental Sealant Procedure Painful?
On the contrary, dental sealants’ application on children’s teeth is a quick and painless procedure. The child’s tooth receiving the sealant is first cleaned to ensure all plaque and food particles are removed. After that, an etching solution is applied to the chewing surface for a few seconds before being rinsed with water. The tooth is dried and painted with a thin layer of liquid dental sealants that set by itself or use a special light on the tooth for a few seconds.
The procedure for applying sealants is comfortable and painless but requires experience from the dentist providing the application because children aren’t always cooperative during medical or dental appointments. Therefore if you are searching for a dental sealant near you for your child, the best option is to visit Shore dental, where the experienced dentist ensures the procedure is accomplished efficiently to give your child the protection they need against cavities.
Dental sealant application seems like a straightforward procedure but is fraught with complications when children need to have them on their teeth. Dentists without adequate experience may complete the process without drying your child’s tooth effectively, resulting in the application’s failure. However, if you approach an experienced dentist, you ensure the procedure’s success because the professionals know how to manage children effectively.
Should Your Child Receive Dental Sealants Even If You Have Fluoridated Water?
Fluoridated water can prevent tooth decay by strengthening your child’s tooth enamel. It is an excellent method to make children’s teeth more robust, but it is not a barrier to keep food and bacteria out of the molars. Therefore even if you have community fluoridated water and are using it frequently, you must let your child have dental sealants as an additional protective barrier over their back teeth.