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Full Service
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Progressive Family & Cosmetic Dentistry 6351 Oklahoma Rd.
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One of the most common places that tooth decay develops is on the chewing surfaces of the back teeth, called premolars and molars. If you take a mirror and look at your molars, you will see indentations on the top surface. These indentations are called pits and fissures and they help to grind the food when you eat. Sealants are a thin coating of a plastic-like substance that are painted on the top of the molars covering the pits and fissures to help prevent children from getting cavities. After the dentist paints each tooth, he will use a small hand-held curing light to help the sealants quickly harden. |
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It only takes a few minutes to seal each tooth. Having sealants applied to your child's teeth is easy and painless. Dental sealants help prevent tooth decay on the top of the molars by keeping food and germs from getting down into the grooves on the chewing surfaces. Sealants are normally only applied to the permanent molars. In rare cases, the dentist may recommend applying a sealant to a primary premolar.
As long as the sealant remains intact, the sealed tooth surface will be protected from decay (cavities). Sealants hold up well under the force of normal chewing and usually last many years. During your regular dental visits, we will check the condition of the sealants and reapply them if necessary.
Children are much more susceptible to tooth decay than adults. When possible, sealants should be applied to children’s teeth before decay has had a chance to begin. We recommend applying sealants as soon as the top surface of the tooth has fully emerged. The chart below shows approximately when the permanent molar's usually appear.
| Permanent Teeth | First |
Second |
First |
Second |
Maxillary (upper) teeth |
10–11 yrs |
10–12 yrs |
6–7 yrs |
12–13 yrs |
Mandibular (lower) teeth |
10–12 yrs |
11–12 yrs |
6–7 yrs |
11–13 yrs |
When it comes to maintaining a healthly mouth, prevention is always better than treatment. Properly applied and maintained sealants are extremely helpful in preventing pit and fissure decay and are cost-effective.
Remember, dental sealants only protect the surface area that they are placed on. Your child will still need to brush and floss every day. The hygentist will continue to apply flouride. Fluoride treatments helps protect all the surfaces of the tooth from decay and cavities so your child will still need flouride applied to all of their teeth.
The materials used in our sealant products are safe and free of Bis-GMA.
While the ease and reliability of application of Embrace WetBond Pit and Fissure Sealant ... that does not include Bis-GMA and therefore contains no Bisphenol-A, ... WetBond is the only sealant able to make the claim of being Bisphenol-A free.
Our Sealants
If you have any other questions regarding dental sealants, please give us a call.
Copyright © 2012 Progressive Family & Cosmetic Dentistry, 6351 Oklahoma Rd., Eldersburg MD 21784, Carroll County Maryland - Dr Spencer St Cyr, DDS / Dr Brian Shinabery DDS |