Sealants Are an Effective Protection for Children against Cavities

Sealants are thin and transparent plastic coatings which when painted on the chewing surfaces of the molars (back teeth) prevent cavities for up to 10 years. School going children between the ages of 6 to 11 without sealants have cavities on their first molars than the children with sealants.

The number of children with sealants in their mouths as increased significantly in higher-income households. Unfortunately, children from low-income households without sealants are twice as likely to have cavities that are not treated as in higher-income households. Cavities that are not treated can cause infections, pain, problems when eating, speaking, and learning. Many states are spending millions helping children prevent cavities by introducing or expanding programs to offer dental sealants in school.

Why Sealants Must Be Used?

Preventing cavities is easy with the help of sealants that are painless and can be applied in the mouths of children in a simple procedure. Children must have sealants applied on their back molars where almost 90 percent cavities occur. After application, the sealants can protect against 80 percent cavities for a couple of years and continue the protection against 50 percent cavities for another four years.

Sealants can eliminate the requirement of expensive and invasive treatments including fillings and dental crowns. Applying dental sealants in schools for approximately 7 million children from lower-income households can save up to $ 300 million in costs for dental treatments.

When Should Sealants the Applied?

If your child is of school-going age and in the age bracket of 6 to 11 you should consider taking him or her to the dentist in Houston, TX, to have the sealants applied. It is important for you only to consider taking your child to an experienced dentist who has the patience to work with children.

The procedure for applying the sealants despite being simple and painless requires the child to sit with an open mouth on the dentists’ chair until the tooth is cleaned and dried. Any compromise in this process can render the sealant a failure. This is the most difficult part of this procedure especially for dentists that are not accustomed to working with children.

Applying the Sealants

Applying the sealants is quite easy and painless as described earlier. If you research for a dentist near me for the application he or she will begin the procedure by cleaning your child’s teeth and removing any decay which may have formed. The tooth will be rinsed and dried after the cleaning process by placing cotton or swab in the area.

After a few minutes, an etching solution will be applied to the tooth receiving the sealant. The etching solution assists the sealing material to adhere to the tooth. The tooth will again be rinsed and dried thoroughly to prepare it for the sealant. This is the part where the experience of the dentist plays a huge role. The tooth must be thoroughly dried before applying the sealing material.

After a few minutes the dentist in South Houston, TX, will apply the dental sealant and cure it with a special light to harden it quickly. The procedure ends with the hardening and your child will be free to walk away from the dentists’ office doing everything he or she wants to do.

Are Sealants Expensive?

Dental sealants are affordable and cost between $ 30-$ 60 per tooth. Dental insurance companies are providing coverage for dental sealants for children and therefore you must have sealants applied on your child’s teeth without fail. Sealants can also be applied to adults but you may have to pay a higher price for the application and dental insurance companies will not reimburse the costs to you.

What Happens When You Ignore Sealants?

You can ignore sealants just as millions of other people are doing in the country and are leaving their children exposed to dental problems such as cavities and tooth decay. You may believe brushing and flossing are sufficient to keep such problems away from their mouths. However, cavity-causing bacteria and food particles find hiding places in the crevices of the molars to play havoc with the tooth and create major dental problems. The problems will heap upon you and your child the need to become involved in extensive and invasive dental work spending a significant sum of money. Ignoring sealants may sound easy but ignoring the pain being experienced by your child will be difficult and also hurt your wallet. Therefore it is suggested that you don’t consider ignoring sealants for your children for any reason.