Q) What are fissure sealants?
Fissure sealants are thin coatings of dental material that are applied on the chewing teeth ( back teeth) to prevent tooth decay. They are generally advised in permanent or adult teeth that erupt at the back of the mouth in children.
Q) Why are dental sealants vital?
The chewing teeth at the back of the molar teeth have many grooves on their surfaces called fissures. Sometimes, these tooth fissures run deep and trap food. Often, simply brushing does not dislodge the food particles from the grooves because the bristles of a toothbrush cannot access these areas effectively. As a result, a steady accumulation of food provides an opportunity for bacterial growth culminating in dental caries.
As a preventive measure, your friendly Canberra dentist at Molonglo Dental Surgery educates patients on the importance of ‘tooth sealing’ against dental cavities or dental caries.
Q) When must I consider getting dental sealants in my child’s teeth?
The efficient team at Molonglo Dental Surgery strongly concludes in providing fissure sealing as early as in fully erupted 6 year-old or 12 year-old permanent molar teeth in children to anytime during adult life.
However, if your Dentist at Molonglo Dental Surgery discovers that the tooth or teeth exhibit signs of dental caries, she will recommend a white cavity filling or a composite filling instead.
Q) How will the Dentist apply the fissure sealant to my teeth?
The application of a fissure sealant in your teeth is not as invasive as getting a dental filling. It generally needs one or two appointments to place the fissure sealant in your child’s tooth/teeth.
Your Dentist at Molonglo Dental Surgery will commence by cleaning your tooth to rid it of any stuck food in the fissures. Thereafter, the tooth will be conditioned for a few minutes. After the conditioning, the tooth shall be thoroughly rinsed. After the rinsing, the tooth will be dried and then followed by the application of the dental sealant. Once the sealant is in the tooth, the dentist will hold a blue light close to the tooth to enable the sealant to harden. After the sealant has set, your dentist at Molonglo Dental surgery may use the machine to smoothen and polish any uneven or rough points in the tooth sealant.
Placing a tooth fissure sealant doesn’t take as long as a dental filling. In addition, the use of the drill and tooth sensitivity after is almost negligible.
Nonetheless, if you are anxious about the procedure, do not hesitate to connect with your dentist or her team at Molonglo Dental Surgery before your appointment.
Q) How long will my tooth sealant last?
Numerous studies indicate that dental sealants can last for many years. However, a diet involving too much sugar, too many sodas, candies or confectionaries coupled with failure to maintain optimum oral hygiene practices or teeth grinding, will reduce the efficacy and longevity of the dental sealant.
Your Dentist at Molonglo Dental Surgery endorses regular dental check-ups as one of the means to retain the tooth fissure sealant.
To know more about maintaining the benefits of your dental fissure sealant, you can call your Canberra dentist at Molonglo Dental Surgery on +61262871222.
Q) Are there any alternatives to using a fissure sealant in teeth?
As you are aware, following dietary regulations, teeth brushing twice a day and a biannual visit to your kid friendly dentist at Molonglo Dental Surgery will aid in keeping dental cavities to a minimum. However, genetic factors, environmental factors and certain underlying medical conditions may prevent us from achieving the aforementioned intentions.
A Flouride treatment involved the application of a fluoride gel in the mouth in the dental clinic. After leaving it in the mouth for a few minutes, you shall be asked to rinse out the fluoride gel. Some studies indicate that fluoride ‘acts’ on smooth surfaces of our teeth rather than in the grooves or the fine lines in our teeth.
Therefore, at Molonglo Dental Clinic, we advocate the application of fissure sealants in baby teeth as well as the fissure sealing in adult teeth, as necessary. To know more, call us for an appointment at Molonglo Dental Clinic for appropriate treatments and alternatives, if any.
Q) Once I get fissure sealants in my child’s teeth, can he/she eat anything they want?
As you are aware, tooth decay or tooth cavity or dental caries commences as soon as a small hole develops in the tooth. Left unchecked, it progresses in size and depth over time. A regular intake of food high in sugar, sticky or acidic, catalyses the cavitation process simply because we provide more ‘food’ to the cavity- causing bacteria.
However, if the dental sealant procedure is undertaken, it forms a barrier that prevents food entrapment in the otherwise deep pits and grooves on our teeth- like a cavity fighting liquid. This prevents the initiation of a cavity or in some cases, the progression of dental caries.
The function of a sealant is to protect the tooth. It does not strengthen the tooth to withstand highly acidic or sticky or sugary food and drinks. Under such circumstances, the sealant will either crack, break or fail its primary purpose.
Hence your dentist at Molonglo Dental Surgery urges you to pursue a tooth-friendly diet, tooth brushing twice a day and at least a biannual visit to the clinic even after the dental sealant procedure.
For more advice on the maintenance of tooth sealants, do not hesitate to connect with our team at Molonglo Dental Surgery in Coombs ACT on 0262871222. Additionally you may visit our website on https://molonglodental.com.au/.
Finally, a word of assurance- Molonglo Dental Surgery is a child-friendly practice. Molonglo Dental Surgery is the first dental practice in Canberra to introduce the Dinosaur Chair – to the joy of all our little patients! We understand the anxiety our little patients and their parents undergo before any dental procedure. Hence we will try to address your and your child’s fears or dental anxieties with utmost patience and compassion.
We strongly believe that a dental visit doesn’t have to be a stressful experience for anybody. Therefore, we tailor our approach and treatments keeping our patients in mind.
As Christopher Moore presented, ” Children see magic because they look for it.”
And they do believe in Tooth-Fairies, don’t they?
