Sealants

Sealants are another important part of preventive dentistry. Many teeth have small grooves or pitted areas in the enamel where bits of food and dental plaque accumulate. Most of these tooth surface imperfections are too small for bristles to enter, so the food material and bacterial plaque cannot be brushed or flossed away. Tooth decay, called pit and fissure caries, usually results. However, the dentist or hygienist can often prevent such tooth decay. A sealant consists of a liquid resin that flows across the tooth surface and fills the grooves and pits. It then hardens, sealing off the enamel imperfections. Food debris and dental plaque cannot enter a groove or pit that has been sealed with bonded resin. Other materials are also used as sealants, as dentist continue to seek the ideal method of protecting enamel pits and fissures. Some primary molars may also be given the protection of sealants, but dentists are selective in sealing baby molars. Clinical experience has shown that sealants don't stay bonded to primary teeth as well as they do to permanent teeth. Sealants last for many years; depending on a child's diet and oral habits, they eventually need to be repaired or replaced.