The optimal remedy to prevent cavities on teeth is brushing and flossing, preventing snacking on sugary and starchy foods and beverages, and visiting dentists for twice-yearly exams and cleanings. Unfortunately, the bacteria in your mouth are more resilient and discover new techniques to penetrate your tooth enamel leaving behind permanent damage in the form of cavities. Whether you get fluoride treatments to strengthen your enamel or use any other method, the bacteria eventually succeed in their goal to leave you with permanent damage in your teeth besides considerable expenditure to restore them. Fortunately, you can have an additional protective barrier over your teeth with dental sealants providing an appropriate solution against the bacteria in your mouth.
How Do Bacteria Manage to Cause Permanent Damage despite Protective Measures?
The microorganisms concentrate on areas of your mouth difficult to reach with manual toothbrushes when cleaning them. As a result, you may encounter challenges cleaning your teeth even when using dental floss. The challenges allow plaque, a sticky layer, to develop on your teeth and between them continuously. Plaque contains bacteria that begin working overtime to create the damage you eventually notice. Eliminating plaque buildup from your teeth by visiting the
Munster dentist every six months helps reduce the chances of developing cavities.
Your back teeth have deep pits and fissures convenient for food particles and bacteria to remain trapped. The back teeth are challenging to clean, and often the prime victims of tooth decay leave behind damages that need restorations like fillings and other treatments from dentists. However, if your teeth are in excellent shape without holes in them, you can prevent the development of cavities by seeking help from the dentist in Munster and getting
teeth sealants as an additional preventive barrier.
Who Needs Dental Sealants?
Anyone without tooth decay or cavities can request dental sealants from their dentist. However, children qualify for dental sealants more than adults because they frequently snack on the foods and beverages described earlier and confront similar challenges brushing and flossing their molars. During routine dental visits, dentists check the emergence of children’s molars and recommend you protect them by getting teeth sealants on their molars. Children receive dental sealants on the surfaces of their molars to create a smooth surface to prevent the trapping of food particles and allow children to brush and floss comfortably.
Children develop molars at six, 12, and 18, and getting them protected prevents considerable expenditure on expensive dental treatments they will need when they allow tooth decay to penetrate their molars. In addition, the cost of getting dental sealants isn’t high and requires an investment of $ 30-$ 60 per tooth, significantly fewer dollars than getting dental fillings or scheduling appointments with dentists.
How to Get Dental Sealants for Children?
Getting dental sealants for children is not a significant challenge if you are diligent with routine dental visits. Dentists observe your child’s molars and recommend getting the bonds on them soon after they erupt. Adhering to the dentist’s advice is required to get dental sealants on the child’s molars.
The application process of dental sealants is entirely painless and completed in one appointment with the dentist. However, treating children is a challenge even experienced dentists find difficult. Therefore you must get the sealants applied by a dentist with experience dealing with children.
Although the process is comfortable and painless, children must sit with their mouths open on the dentist’s chair, allowing the professional to clean the targeted molars for the sealants without contaminating them with saliva during the procedure.
Firstly the dentist cleans the targeted molar and dries it thoroughly using absorbent material. After the initial cleaning, the dentist applies a roughing solution to the teeth to help the sealant adhere to the tooth. Next, the solution is cleaned and the tooth dried with absorbent material again. Finally, the sealant, tooth-colored durable plastic material, is painted on the surfaces of the teeth and hardened with ultraviolet light. You are free to return home with your child after completing this comfortable procedure, and your kid can go through their regular activities without hindrance.
How Long Do Dental Sealants Last on the Teeth?
The sealants, while protecting the teeth against cavities by 80 percent for the first two years and by 50 percent for another four years, remain on your child’s teeth for approximately nine years. However, they are prone to chipping and cracking and require attention from the dentist during routine dental visits.
Dental sealants by themselves do not protect teeth against cavities without your help. After getting dental sealants, you must continue
maintaining excellent dental hygiene practices making every effort to ensure you don’t allow the bacteria in your mouth to attack your remaining teeth. Dental sealants are merely a cost-effective preventive measure against tooth decay from leaving you with considerable expenditure but don’t eradicate bacteria from your mouth entirely.
