WHAT ARE DENTAL SEALANTS?

The chewing surface of a molar includes many grooves, nooks, and crannies. These areas harbor a lot of food, plaque, and bacteria, and are difficult to brush. For these reasons, the biting surface of a molar is a common site to suffer from decay, or a cavity. Sealants offer effective protection against this. A dental sealant is a thin coating that we apply to the biting surfaces of those molars to prevent plaque and bacteria from accessing them.

Permanent molars grow into a child’s mouth around age 6 years, and are expected to last a lifetime. For this reason, we routinely recommend sealing them to help them defend the attacks of food, plaque, and bacteria over the years.

Baby molars, on the other hand, fall out of a child’s mouth around the tenth birthday, so sealants are not routinely recommended for them, but rather on an as-needed basis. If we see the signs of a cavity starting to form, we may advise putting a sealant on that tooth, to help prevent that tooth from ever needing a filling.

PROTECTIVE DENTAL SEALANT BENEFITS

We’re so happy to offer dental sealants to our patients, because they represent a way that we can help protect those chompers between checkups. We can’t always be there reminding your child how to brush just right and inspiring them to floss each day, but we can send them home with this long-term protection. We love dental sealants because they:

• Are quick, easy, and painless to apply
• Last for a long time
• Protect children’s molars from decay
• Require no special maintenance
• Are safe and effective

DENTAL SEALANT PROCEDURE

The procedure for applying protective dental sealants is quick and easy! It includes:

1. Drying the teeth thoroughly.
2. Cleaning the teeth with a special etchant material.
3. Applying a bonding solution.
4. Brushing on the sealant liquid.
5. Drying, or hardening, the sealant with a special light.

That’s it! Your child doesn’t need to wait to eat or drink, and there are no restrictions!

WHO DOES PREVENTATIVE DENTAL SEALANTS IN NYC?

Smile Out Loud in Gramercy Park does! Give us a call today to schedule your child’s dental cleaning and quick, easy sealant treatment.