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SEALANTS
FOR CHILDREN
Brush,
Floss, Paint
Sealants can shield your teeth from
decay!
Brushing two times a day
Flossing once a
day
Paint...applying sealants
.....
can help you hear us say "No
cavities!" after a checkup.
"Placement of sealants..... typically produce a 60%
reduction in decay on the chewing surfaces of posterior teeth
of children"**
A dental sealant is
a safe plastic like material that is
painted on to the chewing surfaces of the back teeth (molars and premolars) and acts like a
physical barrier to
help "seal out" germs and food that cause tooth decay
and destroy tooth structure.
18%
of 2-4 year olds have tooth decay... by age 17, 78% of
children will have experienced dental disease with 7% losing
at least one permanent tooth. 88% of children cavities are
pits and fissure cavities...fluoride is not as effective in
this area as on the smooth tooth surfaces. Tooth susceptibility
to cavities remains the highest in molars.
Tooth structure is lost
every time a tooth is filled or a filling is replaced, which
occurs every 6-8 years. Eight-four percent of cavities
in 5 to 17 year olds are on tooth surfaces.
As
long as the sealant remains intact, food particles and bacteria cannot penetrate
through a sealant to cause decay.
Sealants are 100%
effective in reducing tooth decay as long as the sealants
remain intact
and will last
for 15 years or longer with a good follow-up program. Sealants
need to be repaired and restored to continue to be beneficial,
however only 2-4% of all sealants placed need some form of
repair over the lifetime of the tooth. This repair
usually occurs during the first year.#
Sealants are a
painless, effective, safe, easy to apply, long-lasting and cost effective
treatment.
Children and teens ages 5
to 15 benefit most from dental sealants because molars erupt
during this period. However, less than 20% of children
l5-17 have dental sealants.
Sealants act as a barrier,
protecting enamel from plaque and acids.
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They should be applied to newly erupted,
permanent teeth in order to receive the greatest benefit for cavity prevention.
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6 year molars come in (one in each
"quadrant" of the mouth: upper right, lower
right, upper left, lower left) between 5-7 years of age. These
molars do NOT replace a baby tooth; they come in behind
the last baby tooth What’s so
important about the 6-year molars? These teeth serve
as anchor teeth for the entire bite. It is
usually the largest tooth, with the strongest roots, and
has the broadest chewing surface. It also often has very
deep and narrow grooves in the chewing surface.
Frequently, children don’t brush well at the age of
6, and the chewing surface rapidly decays. |
| At age 12, the jaws
have grown enough that another permanent tooth (the second
molar) can come in behind the 6-year molars between the ages of 11-14 years of age.
If the 6 year molars have been decayed and extracted
than when the 12-year molars came in they will tilt
into the 6-year molar’s vacant space and the entire
bite was damaged. |
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The greatest chance
of decay occurs during the first year after the tooth has come in.
|
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Sealants
should be applied if caries risk factors are
present: poor oral hygiene, cariogenic diet,
family history of cavities, low fluoride intake,
history of cavities, medical issues like dry mouth
or deep pit and fissures. |
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It is
never to late to apply sealants, as long as the teeth are free of decay and
fillings.
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6-year
molars are a cornerstone of your child's bite
Sealants are a cornerstone to protect and
save your child's bite.
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Top
Teens and adults can benefit from sealants due to the fact that it is has been
proved that 95% of all people will eventually have a cavity/cavities in the pits
and/or grooves of their teeth. For more on adult sealant: Adult
Sealants.
Shows deep grooves that are normally found in molars that act as a food trap.
Two-thirds of all cavities occur in these narrow pits and grooves of newly
erupted teeth.
Shows sealant on tooth to protect the tooth surface from decay
(pictures courtesy of Heartland Dental
Associates)
This plastic
resin bonds INTO the depressions and grooves of teeth to help "seal"
out decay!
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Why
seal?
-
Permanent molars (back teeth) have deeper grooves
and more than 85 % to 90% of tooth decay begins here. These natural
valleys make it harder to clean by brushing. The enamel in these areas
can also be thinner making them easier to destroy by germs to cause
cavities.
-
This area is small and very
hard for a 6 year old to
keep clean
-
These permanent molars are the
main chewing surfaces
and so have the greatest exposure to foods and their residue
-
The upper permanent molars do not have the advantage of
salivary flow over them to help naturally clean them so plaque remains on
their surfaces
-
Toothbrush bristles bend and are too large to fit into
these grooves 
As you can see a single toothbrush bristle is too large to reach inside the
fissure.
-
These teeth are meant to last a lifetime and the
natural tooth structure is much stronger than any filling material
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In newly erupted permanent teeth the pulp chamber which
contains the nerves and blood vessels are very large and near the
surface. A filling here may risk the pulp being exposed and lead
to a child's "root canal" or
pulpotomy
-
The
bacteria in these grooves shed into the saliva
exposing all of the other teeth to bacteria
-
The enamel of a young permanent tooth is still maturing
for three years after it erupts, so it is very susceptible to decay
-
Sealants
can not only prevent cavities
but can also arrest the progress
of decay.
-
Cost effective. Sealants cost
less than half of what one
silver filling cost! Sealants fee:
$25.00/tooth Filling fee: $60-$100/tooth Pulpotomy:
$75-100 Root canals $400-$600. So putting sealants on now will
save you money in the long run by avoiding fillings or crowns used to fix
decayed teeth.
-
Fluoride is effective on smooth tooth surface not the
grooves of the teeth
-
Healthy teeth can last a lifetime!
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There are no shots and this
procedure is painless.
This
procedure is done
by:
-
First
preparing the tooth by thoroughly cleaning these teeth with air abrasion.
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This
"etching" material is placed for 10-15 sec. and than thoroughly rinsed
off with water. This etching solution kills any bacteria and makes the
surface slightly rough to help the sealant adhere better.
-
The chewing surface is than dried, it is important to keep your tongue away from this area
to keep the site as dry as possible.
-
The
wear-resistant
tooth-colored
material is
carefully bonded
into the grooves
to
"seal"
the tooth and than
harden
with a curing light. Protective glasses are used to keep your eyes safe
from the light. When the sealant is applied, finger-like strands penetrate
the pits and fissures of the tooth enamel to cover them.
-
The sealant is carefully checked so you can eat normally.
Sealants
protect against
cavities
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Sealants need to be checked to make sure the seal is not chipped or broken at
your 6 month recall appointment. A broken seal will allow decay to develop
in the grooves.
Sealants
Home Care
Thus armed with the
tools of
fluoride, dental visits
twice a year, regular brushing,
flossing, eating a balanced
diet, limiting the number of between-meal snacks
and sealants
can help you to eliminate dental decay!
SEALANTS +
FLUORIDE=MAXIMUM PROTECTION AGAINST CAVITIES
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Risk
Factors for Sealants
| Children |
Risk Factors |
| Low Risk |
No new or incipient caries
in the past year
Good oral hygiene
Regular dental visits |
| |
|
| Moderate Risk |
One new, incipient or recurrent
caries in the past year
Deep pits and fissure
High familial caries experience
History of pits and fissure caries
Early childhood caries
Frequent sugar exposure
Decreased salivary flow
Compromised oral hygiene
Irregular dental visits
Inadequate fluoride exposure
Treatment for braces |
| |
|
| High Risk |
Two or more new or
recurrent carious lesions in past year
Deep pits and fissure
Sibling or parents with high caries rate
History of pit and fissure caries
Early childhood caries
Frequent sugar exposures
Decreased salivary flow
Compromised oral hygiene# |
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Resources:
Of the restored or carious molars,
significantly more were found in the mandible than in the
maxilla. This longitudinal study showed that pit
and fissure sealants, applied during childhood, have a
long-lasting, caries-preventive effect.
International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry 11 (6), 458-458
National
Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research:
National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health.
February 06, 2008 #Sealants..what
a great idea! Detnal Equipment & Materials pg 64-66 April
2004 *Ms
Flossy
~Healthy Teeth
program.
** Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: www.cdc.gov/mmwr/ Back |
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