Get in touch

Dental Sealants

Dental sealants are an important tool for achieving one of the most important goals of dentistry—preventing tooth decay.

Decay prevention is a primary focus in our relationship with every patient. It’s the reason for regular dental hygiene visits, during which a dental technician careful removes plaque and tartar that lead to tooth decay. It’s also the reason why our technicians take the time to go over proper brushing and flossing techniques with you, as well as aspects of your diet that may contribute to decay.

Of course, that’s what the battle against decay tends to look like for teens and adults. The fight actually begins long before you have a full set of teeth. When molars and premolars first break through the gums of children, those teeth have grooves, also called fissures, on the surface. Those grooves can be too deep and too narrow for a regular toothbrush to reach, so dentists will recommend dental sealants to prevent plaque from building up in those areas.

Dental sealants are a relatively new addition to the dentistry tool box. The idea has been around since the 1920s, but the materials that made it the readily-available option it is today came along around 1970

The procedure is incredibly simple for the amount of protection it offers:

The teeth getting the sealant are thoroughly cleaned and dried.
The chewing surfaces of those teeth are roughened a bit, using an acid solution; this helps form a strong bond between the sealant and the teeth.
The teeth are then rinsed and thoroughly dried.
The sealant is applied to the tooth; it is literally painted on with a brush
Depending on the sealant material being used, your dentist may use a special curing light to help the hardening process.

Just to be clear—adult teeth have fissures and grooves, too. But if sealants aren’t applied in childhood, most adults will probably have already have had fillings or other work done on their chewing teeth, removing the need for sealants. If you’re one of those rare grown-ups with cavity-free teeth, your dentist may very well suggest sealants just to keep that great track record growing (just check with your dental insurance provider before doing the procedure, as it tends to be covered only for patients under 18).

We’ve been applying dental sealants in Annapolis for a long time and would be delighted to help protect your family’s teeth with that expertise.

Isn’t fluoride supposed to protect teeth?

Absolutely. Fluoride toothpastes and dentist-office fluoride treatments are crucial to protecting the surfaces of your teeth. But sealants provide extra protection for grooved or pitted portions of molars, the teeth used for grinding and chewing—fluoride alone can use the support of sealants in those areas.
How long do sealants last?

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, sealants have been shown to provide protection for up to nine years. There is, however a chance of them falling off. So, if your child does get sealants, be sure to have your dentist check them during his or her regular dental check-ups.
Your Dental Word of the Day: “Caries”

A trip to the dentist can often be a great chance to learn a new crossword puzzle or Scrabble word (that’s kind of like Words with Friends, just older…and no data plan required). When talking about sealants, you’ll probably learn the word, “caries.” That’s the name given to the weakening of a tooth’s surface by acids that are released in the mouth, when bacteria consume sugar from your diet. Unchecked caries leads to tooth decay, which lead to cavities.