Children with Dental Sealants Less Likely to Develop Cavities
Have you ever been to the emergency pediatric dentist in Roanoke seeking treatments for cavities in your child’s tooth? The visit may have prompted feelings in you of how you can prevent cavities in children’s mouths. Perhaps you haven’t heard what the CDC has to say about a comfortable method to prevent dental cavities by getting your kid dental sealants to protect their molars.
Dental sealants near you help prevent the development of cavities in your child’s mouth by functioning as a barrier between the tooth enamel and plaque to prevent acid-producing bacteria from attacking their teeth. The application of dental sealants on your child’s teeth protects them and prevents tooth decay. The sealants fill the grooves and pits of the teeth challenging to clean, creating a smooth and easy to clean surface on the molars.
What Are Dental Sealants?
Dental sealants are thin coatings resembling plastic to cover the chewing surfaces of the molars. Sealants help prevent tooth decay by acting as a barrier over the teeth by creating an easier to clean surface.
The chewing surfaces of the molars have tiny grooves called fissures. Tooth decay generally begins in the fissures where food particles and bacteria remain trapped. The fissures are minute for the bristles of toothbrushes to reach between them for cleaning.
What Causes Tooth Decay?
Everyone has bacteria causing tooth decay living in their mouths. When you eat, you also allow the bacteria to enjoy themselves. The bacteria have the sugars in the foods and drinks you consume and produce acids to damage the tooth surfaces. Over time the bacterial damage leads to the formation of a cavity in the tooth.
How Dental Sealants Benefit Your Child?
The pediatric dentist in Roanoke applies dental sealants on your child’s molars to fill the small fissures to help keep out food particles and bacteria and prevent tooth decay. Your child benefits in many ways when you have dental sealants applied to their teeth.
Dental sealants are tooth-colored and clear in appearance. The bonds fill and block the fissures and grooves in the back teeth for decay prevention. Application of dental sealants only requires a couple of minutes per tooth, and the procedure is entirely painless. In addition, dental sealants do not dissolve in saliva and require no anesthesia or drilling during the application. Best of all, they are safe as they have been for over six decades.
The pediatric dentist near you applies dental sealants on your child’s teeth in the dental office, confirming the sealants protect your child’s teeth against cavities by 80 percent for the initial two years. After that, dental sealants continue the protection against 50 percent of holes for another four years while remaining on your child’s teeth for up to nine years.
Your child develops molars at six, 12, and 18. Tooth decay generally begins in the narrow pits and fissures on the biting surfaces of the molars. Therefore, the permanent molars are at a higher risk of tooth decay and benefit from this convenient application.
Besides protecting your child’s molars from tooth decay, dental sealants also prevent lost time at school and repeated visits to emergency dentists for treatments leaving permanent damage in the tooth.
The Dental Sealant Procedure
Dr. Cristelle Rodriguez prepares your child’s teeth for dental sealant application by first cleaning and drying them. Before putting the sealant on the teeth, the doctor applies an etching solution to help the sealant bond securely. Next, the teeth are again cleaned and dried in preparation for the final application of the dental sealant. Eventually, the sealant, a thin layer of plastic liquid, is applied into the pits and fissures and hardened using a unique light.
Getting dental sealants from the pediatric dental office in Roanoke is relatively comfortable and completed within a few minutes. Every tooth requiring dental sealants is covered by the dentist in merely a couple of minutes so long as your child cooperates with the treatment and sits still with an open mouth. The treatment procedure isn’t likely to cause any financial anxiety because it is affordable and costs $ 30-$ 60 per tooth. However, dental sealant placement is technically sensitive and is best applied by the experienced pediatric dentist in Roanoke with extensive experience in dealing with children and ensuring their teeth are protected adequately.