If Your Child Has Had Multiple Cavities, It's Time For Dental Sealants
Posted on: 18 March 2022
Every parent would likely love for their child to go through their childhood without developing a single cavity. However, this is very often not what ends up happening. Whether due to poor oral hygiene, genetic factors, or something else, many children will experience a cavity before they become adults. If your child has already had more than one cavity, chances are you want to do anything you can to help prevent it from happening again. Here's an optional treatment that your local pediatric dentist can help you with.
What Dental Sealants Are
Dental sealants are the treatment that you should consider getting for your child. Dental sealants are designed to provide an extra layer of protection between everything in the mouth and your child's teeth. They're able to do this because dental sealants cover the biting surfaces of the teeth, and are made out of the same material as dental fillings. Since fillings and sealants are made of a non-organic material, things like bacteria, plaque, and tartar have no real impact on them. This means that even if your child doesn't brush as often as they should or something gets stuck in the crevices of their molars, they'll be protected from the bacteria thriving in their mouth.
Where They're Available
Dental sealants typically aren't given to or recommended for adults, so you'll likely need to go to a pediatric dentist's office to get help with this. Pediatric dentists, as the name implies, specialize in treating children for everything from standard dental cleanings to serious conditions like tooth decay and gum disease. Dental sealants can be provided to your child at any age, and will typically last for some time before they need to be removed or redone.
What to Expect
Unlike dental fillings, there's no pain or fear attached to getting a dental sealant. Your dentist will need to clean your child's teeth first, to ensure that nothing is currently on the surface that could harm their teeth. From there, the sealants will go on. The pediatric dentist will essentially paint the surfaces of your child's teeth with the sealant, and will then either let it air-dry or use a special light to harden it, depending on the type of sealant they use.
Sealants should have no cosmetic impact and aren't something your child can feel while eating. Once they're in place, your child's teeth will look exactly the same, but you'll be able to rest easy knowing they have an extra layer of protection from cavities.
For more information on dental sealants, contact a dental office like New England Dental Specialists of Norwood.
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