Does Your Child Need Sealants?

You work hard to prevent tooth decay in your children. You offer nutritious meals, limit between-meal snacks and sugary treats and take them to see your dentists at Sudbury Family Dental Care in Sudbury, MA, Dr. Maria Elizondo Marinescu, Dr. Sorin Marinescu, and their associates. Is all this enough to prevent cavities? Why not explore dental sealants, thin plastic coatings simply and quickly applied right in the treatment room? Sealants provide that extra layer of protection your children may need.

Those molars

Whether they're baby teeth or the permanent ones, back molars and pre-molars have intricately grooved and pitted surfaces for a reason--they're the chewing teeth. However, these pits and fissures also collect harmful plaque and tartar. Even in minuscule amounts, these biofilms cause cavities.

In fact, the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research says that 42 percent of children between the ages of two and 11 have at least one cavity. Where does most of the decay occur? You guessed it--in the back teeth.

An easy pediatric dentistry service

At Sudbury Family Dental Care, your team of five dentists and their professional colleagues often recommend plastic sealants to protect vulnerable molars. Painted on in one quick dental appointment, acrylic sealants are biocompatible, safe, durable, and best of all, work well to block the corrosive action of oral bacteria.

If your child qualifies for sealants, your pediatric dentist at Sudbury Family Dental Care will clean and dry the tooth, apply a mild etching solution and then apply the sealant with a small brush. A special blue light hardens the sealant, and then the dentist may proceed to other teeth as necessary. Each sealant application takes about 15 minutes, but amazingly, it lasts up to a year.

Teens and adults with no decay or fillings in their molars may benefit from plastic sealants, too. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control states that sealants can prevent 80 percent of dental decay in molars and premolars.

Find out more

Combined with good at-home and in-office hygiene, plastic sealants are good for your kids' teeth. Wouldn't you like to reduce their chances of tooth decay? Why not call Sudbury Family Dental Care in Sudbury, MA, to learn all the details on this popular pediatric dentistry treatment? Call us today at (978) 443-5193.