Project Description
Sealants
Though essential, sometimes brushing and flossing isn’t enough to prevent cavities. The ridges and curves of your teeth, especially your molars, make it very easy for food and bacteria to get stuck, causing eventual tooth decay. Sealants fill these grooves to keep food out and prevent buildup.
Dental sealants “fill the gaps” both literally and figuratively. Intended to provide additional support against the power of dental decay, sealants will protect your teeth where regular brushing and flossing miss the mark. Children, more often than adults, can have a difficult time effectively brushing and flossing. The ridges and curves of our teeth, especially our molars, make it very easy for food and bacteria to get stuck in these hard-to-reach places. The rough and uneven surfaces of your molars are the perfect hiding place for small pieces of food to get trapped and are hard to reach with the bristles of your toothbrush or with floss. Sealants can help address this challenge.
Sealants are a thin, protective, glue-like coating that we apply to the chewing surface of your teeth. This prevents any ridges or grooves from attracting bacteria-causing visitors. The sealant fills in any susceptible areas on your teeth to keep food out and prevent eventual buildup.
To apply the sealant, our team will start by cleaning and drying the teeth to be sealed. Then, he’ll apply an acidic gel to the chewing surface to roughen it up and prepare it to adhere to the sealant. By roughing up the tooth, the sealant gel will be able to form a stronger bond with the tooth and stay secure longer. When applied, the sealant will act like a raincoat for the molars that work hard to chew your food, keeping out anything that may be harmful to the health and strength of your tooth. To make sure it’s fully bonded, Dr. Angart will use a special blue UV light to dry and harden the sealant.
Are you wondering if you need dental sealants? It’s best to get them when you’re young to keep your teeth protected from the start. A child’s first set of molars usually appears around age six, and the second set pops up around age 12. Sealing these molars as soon as they break through the surface is the best way to keep them cavity-free for the long run. Dr. Angart can advise you as to whether you, or your child, are a good candidate for sealants, and make sure they’re applied securely to keep your teeth protected.