What do sealants do for teeth

When can my child get sealants? Will it hurt to get a sealant? Will sealants make teeth feel different?

What do sealants look like? How long will sealants last? If my water has fluoride, should my child still get sealants? Where can my child get sealants? Some schools offer sealants as part of a community public health program. Ask if your school has a sealant program. If they do, sign your child up to participate. If my child has dental sealants, is there anything else I need to do to protect their teeth? Related Links. School-Sealant Programs.

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Learn more about our commitment to oral health education. Dental Sealants. Top Articles. What are dental sealants?

Why are dental sealants placed on teeth? When are dental sealants placed? Are dental sealants only placed on the chewing surface of molar and premolar permanent teeth? Can dental sealants be placed on the teeth of adults? What do dental sealants look like? How are dental sealants placed?

The tooth surface is thoroughly cleaned with a paste and rotating brush by a dental professional. The tooth is washed with water and dried. An acidic solution is placed on the fissured area of the tooth's chewing surface for several seconds before being rinsed off. This creates small microscopic areas and a fine rougher surface than the surrounding tooth enamel, which can be seen with a microscope.

The rough surface and microscopic areas enable the dental sealant to attach to the tooth. After the tooth is dried again, the liquid dental sealant is placed on the tooth and hardened. Dental sealants are hardened by using a light that hardens the dental sealant, or sometimes by using a two-component dental sealant that sets without light. Once the dental sealant has hardened, it becomes a hard plastic varnish coating, and you can chew on the tooth again.

How long does a dental sealant last? Everybody has the bacteria that cause tooth decay living in their mouth. When you eat, the bacteria eat too.

They feed on sugars in the food and drinks you consume, and they produce acid, which damages the tooth surface the enamel. Sealants are used to fill up the small grooves or fissures in your back teeth, keeping food and bacteria out and preventing decay.

There are several benefits to using sealants. Sealants are put on by an oral health professional dentist, dental therapist or oral health therapist. They usually last from two to seven years, but can last much longer. Sealants need to be checked regularly by your oral health professional. Most decay starts in the narrow pits and grooves on the biting surfaces of the back teeth molars. The permanent molars have the highest risk of tooth decay and benefit the most from dental sealants. For most children, the first permanent molars come through at about six or seven years of age and the second molars about age 11 or 12 years.

As the molars come through, they are at greater risk of tooth decay. This page has been produced in consultation with and approved by:. If you don't have enough calcium in your diet, your bones will eventually become weak and brittle. Most cleft palates and cleft lips can be repaired so that appearance and speech develop normally. Cold sores are blisters around the mouth and nose, caused by the herpes simplex virus. Discoloured, chipped or missing teeth can affect self-confidence but cosmetic dentistry techniques can help.

Dental anxiety is common, but there are ways to help you manage it. Talk to your dentist about which strategies are right for you.