Reduce your child’s risk for cavities by getting dental sealants.
Along with maintaining good oral hygiene, you may be wondering if there is even more that you can do to protect your child’s teeth from decay. Well, as a matter of fact, there is! As one of our premier family dentistry services, our West Orange, NJ, dentists use dental sealants to keep children’s smiles in top quality—read on to learn more.
What are dental sealants?
Dental sealants are a type of preventive dentistry that uses a medical-grade, transparent or tooth-colored plastic to cover the chewing surfaces or your child’s back teeth (also known as molars). This coating will help to prevent food and bacteria from getting trapped, reducing your child’s risk for cavities.
Why are dental sealants placed on molars?
The molars or back teeth are the most susceptible to decay for a couple of reasons. One, they are all the way in the back of your mouth. So, even with the proper care your child may still have trouble getting all the way back there to clean every surface of the tooth.
Secondly, all those grooves on the chewing surfaces are perfect breeding grounds for plaque buildup and cavities. By sealing over these grooves and ridges our West Orange, NJ, family dentistry team can help prevent cavities from forming.
When are dental sealants placed?
Sealants are ideally meant for young children. During your child’s six-month checkups, we will continue to monitor the development of their molars. When the first set of molars erupts then we will talk with parents about whether they want to place dental sealants. This usually occurs around the time your child is 6 or 7 years old. The second set of molars can also benefit from sealants, but they usually won’t erupt until 11 or 12 years old.
How are sealants placed?
First and foremost, placing sealants is no big deal and is completely discomfort-free. We can even apply sealants during your child’s next routine checkup so that you don’t have to make a special visit.
Once your child’s teeth are cleaned, we will paint the chewing surface of your child’s back teeth with the plastic coating and then harden the coating directly to the tooth by directing a special light over the tooth. With the proper care, sealants could last up to a decade or longer before needing to be replaced.
Call us today
Want to get dental sealants for your little one? Call Bagoff Dental Arts in West Orange, NJ, today at (973) 325-9000 for award-winning family dentistry care.
