Children's Sealants
Sealants can help preserve your child's smile for a lifetime. Though dental sealants are not a cure-all in preventing tooth decay, they are cost-effective and helpful to patients- particularly children in controlling decay in certain areas of the mouth.

The Facts About Dental Sealants
A dental sealant is an acrylic-like material that helps shield out decay-causing bacteria from the chewing surfaces of back teeth. We base our diagnosis and recommendation for dental sealants on the patient's susceptibility to tooth decay and how the teeth were shaped when they originally formed below the gum. Though there is no specific age at which sealants are indicated, often we will recommend that the nest time to apply them is when the six-year molars (the first permanent back teeth) appear.

How Do Sealants Help Prevent Decay?
Sealant material forms a protective barrier by bonding to tooth surfaces and covering natural depressions and grooves (called pits and fissures) in the teeth. More than 75% of dental decay begins in the pit and fissure areas of the back teeth. Combined with proper home care and regular dental visits, sealants are extremely effective in preventing tooth decay.

How Are Sealants Applied?
In this painless procedure, a solution is applied to the chewing surface of the tooth to condition the enamel and help it bond more effectively to the sealant material. The tooth is thoroughly washed and dried. Then the sealant material is applied and allowed to harden, sometimes using ultraviolet light. The procedure takes only few minutes.

How Long Do Sealants Last?
Depending on your chewing pattern, the sealant effect can last many years. Even though the sealant material is durable, at subsequent dental appointments we make sure that the sealant material is intact. Occasionally, we might need to replace or add a new layer of sealant material to keep the protective barrier strong and effective.

If you have any questions about sealants, please ask us. Sealants have proven to prevent tooth decay. Our goal is to help preserve your smile throughout your life and sealants help make that possible.