Dental Sealants

Sealants are a safe, painless, and low cost way to help protect you child’s back teeth from decay. Sealants have been used on children’s teeth for more than 30 years. A thin, plastic, tooth-colored or clear coating (sealant) is bonded to the chewing surfaces of the teeth (usually molars & premolars). This forms a hard shield that keeps food and bacteria from getting into the tiny grooves in the tooth. The chewing surfaces of the back tooth have tiny grooves that form as each tooth develops. This is where most decay occurs in children. That is because the bristles of a toothbrush can’t get down into the grooves to remove the food and bacteria that get trapped there.
Usually, the back teeth (molars & premolars) are sealed. Fluoride in toothpaste and fluoride treatments in your dental office help protect the smooth surfaces on the front teeth and on the sides of the back teeth. But only sealants can keep food and bacteria from getting into the grooves on the chewing surfaces of the back teeth. Sealants should be applied as soon as the first permanent molars (6 year molars) erupt. This occurs between 5-7 years of age. The second molars (12 year molars) and the premolars should be sealed as soon as they erupt, between 11-14 years of age. That’s because the greatest chance of decay occurs during the first year after the teeth erupt. However, it’s never too late to apply sealants, as long as teeth are free of decay and fillings the teeth can be sealed.

Many ask about sealing baby teeth. The baby molars often don’t need to be sealed. However, your dentist may recommend sealing the baby molars if there is a high risk of decay. Since baby teeth are “space holders” losing baby molars due to decay can cause crowding when the permanent teeth come in.

Sealants can last for 3-5 years. If they chip or come off, they can easily be replaced, any problems can be detected and corrected at your child’s regular dental checkup. As long as the sealants are in place, decay is less likely to develop in the grooves. Parents can help the sealants last by encouraging your child not to chew on ice cubes and/or hard sticky candy. Your dentist will look at the sealants at each regular dental checkup.

Parents should seek the advice of their dental professionals for the best possible preventive dental care for their children. Helping your children grow to their adult years with the least amount of dental damage is the ultimate goal of your dental team.

Local Upsurge of Dental Caries in Children

A few weeks ago, in another local newspaper, an article was published on dental caries, or cavities, for which several local pediatric dentists were interviewed. The article correctly pointed out that there is currently an upsurge of dental caries in children.
In fact, this epidemic of caries is not limited to children, but affects all the age groups of our population. Teens and young adults frequently arrive at the dental office with severe, and sometimes devastating, caries primarily due to soft drink consumption. Although older patients do not usually practice these destructive habits, they are more vulnerable to root surface caries as the periodontal (gum) tissue has receded and exposed the fragile parts of the tooth to the acid and bacteria in the oral environment.
The shame is that these sugar-related caries are virtually always preventable. An understanding of the nature of the relationship between simple sugar consumption and caries is critical of the prevention of caries. Surprisingly, it is not the amount of sugar consumed, but the frequency of exposure to sugars that is the most important causative factor.
When a person consumes sweets, the sugar causes the pH in the mouth to become more acidic. Streptococcus mutans, the bacteria primarily responsible for dental caries, thrive in an acidic environment. Therefore when one ingests sugar, the acidity level generates ideal conditions for dental caries. The key factor is that after sugar has affected the acidity of a person’s mouth, it takes 45-60 minutes to return to normal levels. This means that if you ingest sugar more than once an hour, whether it’s a soda, throat lozenge, or piece of chewing gum, you create a continuously favorable environment for dental caries.
Dental caries is one of the most common diseases known to affect humans and may always be so. However, you can improve the dental health of yourself and your family by limiting your sugar intake, but more importantly, limit the frequency of exposure to sugary snacks, soda, and fruit juice.
Unfortunately, the availability of sugary snack and drinks in our modern world makes prevention difficult. However, there are several simple tasks involved in caries prevention, including timely dental check-ups, fluoride treatments, and personal hygiene, such as brushing and flossing.
We all like something sweet at times, but for a healthier dental future, you should limit sweet snacks and sodas to meal times or non-sugar drinks in between meals. The frequency of exposure is the most important factor to consider for preventing the formation of caries.
Editor’s note: Most county water systems do not include chlorination, including Marianna.