A dental sealant is a professionally applied material that is put on the surface of the teeth in order to prevent decay caused by bacteria. Dental sealants are usually placed on the surface of the back teeth (molars) because they are the ones that suffer the most damage. Dental sealants can effectively separate bacteria from the enamel off the back teeth thus preventing the interaction of bacteria with the fissures on the surface of the teeth.
When and Why Should a Child get dental Sealants?
Children as well as teenagers should use dental sealants in order to prevent tooth decay. There are two stages in which dental sealants become crucial in order to prevent tooth decay caused by bacteria which interacts with enamel; at or around age 6 the first set of permanent molars start to erupt, when this happens it is necessary to apply a sealant to prevent caries from damaging the tooth; at age 12 and same process has to be repeated in order to protect the second set of permanent molars which is known to erupt at or around this age.
Who should use dental sealants and are they a replacement for fluoride?
Adults can also benefit from the protection of dental sealants, obviously some adults are more vulnerable to tooth decay than others so a dentist will be old to assess the situation and prescribe the best solution.
Obviously the best candidates for dental sealants are children and teenagers because their oral structure and started to develop but as we just mentioned adults can take advantage of this type of protection to prevent tooth decay and future complications.
Even though dental sealants are a terrific way to prevent caries and damage to permanent teeth they are not a substitute for fluoride. Fluoride contains all the minerals and substances necessary to strengthen your teeth and restore the vitality of your Enamel; sealants are just able to protect the condition of the teeth they are not able to enrich and strengthen them therefore these are not substitute products but complements.
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