What Are Dental Sealants and What Are They Used For?

Do you often find yourself with pieces of food stuck between the deep ridges of your teeth? These areas can be difficult to clean with a normal toothbrush and can even be hard to see during a regular dental examination. If this unwanted food doesn’t get cleaned out, you can be susceptible to cavities, or tooth decay, due to the bacteria that can eat away at your teeth. With dental sealants, you can help prevent these cavities from developing in the grooves and ridges of back teeth. The team at Archbold Family Dental would like to educate you on what dental sealants are, what they are used for, and how they may be beneficial to you.

What Are Dental Sealants?

As mentioned earlier, dental sealants help prevent cavities from developing in the grooves and ridges of back teeth that are sometimes hard to brush effectively. It is essentially a clear, thin coating of plastic that is painted over the teeth and seals the molars to keep out unwanted food and bacteria, which assists in preventing cavities.

How Are Dental Sealants Effective?

With dental sealants, you can stop tooth decay at the source and consequently experience fewer cavities by preventing food and plaque from becoming stuck in your teeth. According to the CDC, dental sealants can prevent 80 percent of cavities for two years after application while protecting against 50 percent of cavities for up to four years. With regularly scheduled dental examinations to monitor them, dental sealants typically last five to ten years.

Benefits of Dental Sealants

The primary purpose of dental sealants is to prevent cavities and to protect the enamel of your teeth. By sealing the pits and fissures in your teeth, dental sealants can help prevent more serious oral health issues such as cavities, root canals, or the need for crowns. Dental sealants are also long-lasting, and they are easy to apply, repair, and maintain with simple regular dental visits.

Dental sealants are most commonly performed on children whose brushing habits are not quite where they need to be and can benefit adults susceptible to tooth decay.

If you find that you are often getting food stuck in your teeth and prone to cavities, consider getting dental sealants. To get more information about dental sealants and how they can be used to prevent tooth decay, schedule an appointment with Dr. Custer, or contact us today.