The Process of Applying Dental Sealants
In general dentistry, many dental programs are run to ensure patients have healthy oral cavities. General dentists give their all to creating proper foundations for incredible oral health, through preventive measures. Many programs in general dentistry are focused on preventive dentistry as opposed to restorative dentistry.
One of the main components of preventive dentistry is dental sealants, which are a big deal in adult and children dental health. Do you struggle with dental hygiene because of the deep grooves in your back teeth? Dental cavities linger close once your adult teeth grow. Read on to learn when dental sealants can solve this problem for you.
What Are Dental Sealants?
They are thin plastic-like coatings that are painted on the chewing surfaces of teeth, to fill up the pits and depressions on the enamel. They are used on the molars and premolars, as they have a large chewing surface with pits.
The pits and depressions of the back teeth can be hard to clean properly. Even with thorough teeth brushing techniques, you can still miss some spots in the back teeth. The puts then become a home for plaque to hide, which slowly begins the process of dental decay through cavities.
From that, the primary goal of dental sealants is derived, which is to protect teeth from dental cavities.
Who Needs Dental Sealants?
Dental sealants are not just another luxury for rich people. This treatment is very useful for anyone who has permanent adult teeth.
Oral sealants have been used several in dentistry in pediatric dental care. Children are highly prone to oral cavities, especially between the ages of 6 and 14 years, once their adult teeth have already grown. In addition, these are the very years where you struggle to train your child on the essence of brushing teeth thoroughly and regularly.
Even then, children are not the only ones with problematic back teeth. Adults too have back teeth that have deep pits and depressions. Without keen attention to thee areas of your teeth, it is easy to succumb to oral cavities. Therefore, dental sealants are used for treating both children’s and adults’ teeth.
How are Sealants Applied?
Usually, dental sealants are in a putty-like form. This state is necessary when painting the layer of sealant over teeth, to allow the material to form into the pits of teeth. The dentist will take you through the following steps of sealant application:
- First, your dentist has to identify the specific teeth that highly likely to get cavities.
- The target teeth are then thoroughly cleaned to remove all debris and plaque from the grooves of the teeth.
- Those teeth are then dried properly with a cotton material or swab that is placed on the teeth for a short period.
- The teeth are then roughened with an acidic solution. This step is necessary to allow the sealant to bond properly to your teeth
- After proper rinsing and drying, the sealant material is applied in the surface of your teeth, and immediately, it bonds into the depressions and grooves thereof. In some cases, lasers or ultraviolet light can be used to cure the sealants, promoting speedy drying. Ideally, the dentist may apply two or more layers of the sealant material, to create a tamper-proof seal. When the sealant is properly dried, it should create a layer of protection that will shield your teeth’s enamel from attack by bacteria from plaque.
Are They painful?
The process of applying dental sealants is jot only simple and quick, but also painless. The dentist will not even use local anesthesia during your treatment since no pain is expected from the procedure.
How Long Do Sealants Last?
Unfortunately, most good things have a lifespan, and this goes for dental sealants too. With proper care, you should have your sealants for between 5-10 years. However, you may need some repair dental works done along the way as the sealants wear off. One thing you can be sure of is that you may not have to battle with dental decay for a long time.