What are sealants for teeth?
Dental sealants are used to seal the groves or depressions of the tooth at the biting surface. It can control tooth decay and protect the teeth from dental cavities. It is a long-lasting preventive tooth procedure, commonly applied on children’s and teenagers’ teeth, and in those conditions are most vulnerable to dental cavities such as poor oral hygiene.
Dental sealants are resin in composition and look like plastic tooth color material that apply on the fissure or groove of teeth to prevent food and plaque accumulation. The dental plaque provides a bed for bacterial growth and damaging teeth that make deep cavities later. Dental sealant stops bacterial growth that initiates the cavity. Application of dental sealant is a simple procedure in which a dentist first cleans the tooth surface and removes all moisture and dirt then apply a sealant layer (composite resin) on the tooth surface and makes strong this layer with the help of ultraviolet rays, this procedure can perform n a single visit.
How long does a dental sealant last?
Dental sealants are a long-lasting preventive treatment it will remain for around 10 years. The duration of sealant depends upon the technique and dental expertise. Dental sealants form a barrier on the chewing surface of the tooth, placement of sealant required a completely dried and bacteria-free tooth surface, and saliva can cause sealant failure and produce bacterial growth under the sealant. A parafunctional habit such as night grinding (bruxism) can also be leading to breakage and can wear the sealant layer due to continuous biting force on the tooth surface, which can remove the sealant.
Are dental sealants worth it?
Yes, dental sealants provide prolong tooth decay protection. According to the ADA survey, dental sealant reduces 80% of tooth decay in permanent teeth. It saves time and cost for complex and extensive dental procedures such as dental filling, root canal treatments (RCT), and orthodontic treatment. Dental sealant is a long-term investment for tooth saving commonly applied to children’s teeth. A dental cavity is common in baby teeth and these are mostly extracted before the permanent teeth are coming due to tooth decay, which could cause alignment problems in permanent teeth and affect aesthetic and functional issues with time. Tooth straightening (orthodontic) treatment is required to solve these issues, which is an expensive and time-consuming procedure. So investing a small amount and time at the right time, in the form of sealant on the child’s teeth is worth rather than spending a lot of money later on complex dental treatment.
Can sealants be removed?
•A dental sealant can be removed for various reasons such as improper sealant placement. Sealants would be placed so that it forms a tight bond between the sealant and tooth, any remnant gap between them cause bacterial growth under the sealant that causes an undetectable cavity.
•Type of Dental sealant, different types of sealant applied on the tooth surface such as light cure composite sealant type are difficult to remove and produce better results as compared to the self-cure composite sealant.
•Hard biting activity can wear or damage the sealant layer, which can cause the removal of sealant from the fissure or grove of the tooth.
•Completely drying the tooth surface and isolation from saliva contamination is a very crucial step, during sealant application. Moist tooth surface can produce alteration in the sealant material that affects the attachment of the sealant with the tooth and causes removal of the sealant.