Learn More About Dental Sealants:
Dental sealants are considered the best way to safeguard your teeth against cavities and decay. These sealants help keep your teeth healthy and protect your teeth. Our mouths are fighting off bacteria every day, even with brushing and flossing, but more care is needed. Regular visits are a viable way to keep your mouth healthy; dental sealants can act as a barrier between bacteria and your molars. At South Hill Comprehensive Dentistry, we provide dental sealants as a preventative measure against cavities and help cut down the number of cavities experienced by children and adults.
How Do Dental Sealants Work?
Our mouths work to fight off bacteria, in part, through the production of saliva. When we eat and drink, chewing, swallowing, and generating saliva helps wash away harmful strains of bacteria that can easily collect throughout our teeth and gums. However, because this isn’t the most effective method, our teeth and gums develop plaque more often than not. Typically, brushing, flossing, and visiting your dentist for your regular cleaning can help prevent plaque from forming. In the case of the back molars, food and bacteria can get caught in the crevices of those molars. Because of how deep these crevices are during our pre-teen years, bacteria collects and grows rapidly and can make it difficult to clean properly.
That’s where dental sealants come in. Dental sealants are a plastic or resin varnish that’s applied to the back molars to bind to the tooth’s enamel, blocking the entryway of bacteria and food particles from getting lodged in the molar. According to the CDC, dental sealants are an easy way to prevent cavities and can last over nine years after placement and work as an excellent preventative measure. When we perform this procedure, we do it through the following steps:
- Your teeth will be cleaned thoroughly to prevent the development of bacteria inside the molars and around the adjacent teeth.
- Once cleaned, a solution will be applied to roughen the molar surface to allow the varnish to adhere to the tooth on a microscopic scale.
- After using the solution, the varnish will be applied to the surface of the premolars and molars. There will be a waiting period for the varnish to adhere to the enamel of your teeth and completely dry. We may also use curing lights to speed up the process.
- Once the sealant is set, you can rinse your mouth out with water, and the procedure is then completed.
See Us For Your Dental Sealant Needs!
Our dental sealants are meant to be a discrete way to care for your teeth and work for both children and adults. By protecting the surface of your molars, you can have healthy teeth that will last for almost ten years, helping reduce the risk of cavities, severe tooth decay, and gum disease. If you need dental sealants or require reapplication for your sealants, then don’t hesitate to arrange an appointment with South Hill Comprehensive Dentistry today.
