SEALANTS
Sealants are used to fill in narrow grooves in a tooth that cannot be adequately cleaned by brushing. In some cases, the tooth structure has fine grooves or pits which accumulate plaque, not because the person doesn’t brush, but because they’re too narrow to allow even one bristle into them.
These will develop cavities over time, and you don’t want that. So the dentist will brush on a coating that seals the grooves and pits, making it possible to brush off all the plaque and keep your teeth healthy.
- Your back teeth have tiny, deep grooves or fissures. These grooves are so tiny that not even a single bristle from your toothbrush can reach in to clean them. This is great if you are a germ, but not so great if you want healthy teeth. A sealant can fill in these grooves like a waterproof coating and keep the germs from settling in and causing problems.
- The best time for putting sealants on teeth is when the very first permanent tooth, usually a molar, is completely poking out of the gum, at the age of around six years. The second molars come through around the age of 12. Sometimes baby teeth need dental sealants, too.
- While everybody is different, there is no reason why getting sealants for teeth should hurt. In fact, getting sealants is a good procedure to have for your first dental treatment.
