Dental Sealants
Annapolis, MD
Dental Sealants provided by Dr. Djawdan
in Annapolis, MD at Djawdan Center for Implant and Restorative Dentistry
 The most common teeth to develop cavities are your molars, followed by your premolars. Because your molars are so cavity-prone, our dentist offers sealants to help them stay healthy. Here is some additional information from Djawdan Center for Implant and Restorative Dentistry about why sealants might be a good idea for you and your children.
Why Are Molars So Cavity Prone?
There are several reasons molars get more cavities than any other teeth. First, molars represent the greatest number of teeth. If you have all of your molars, you can have 12 molars total, including your third set of molars, which are also called wisdom teeth. Second, your molars do not look like your other teeth. Molars are the largest teeth you have, and they have to be because they take on the bulk of grinding and chewing your food.
Molars also have a large biting surface, larger than any of your other teeth. Unlike your other teeth, molars have uneven biting surfaces, which helps you grind your food but also makes them difficult to clean. The location of your molars also makes them difficult to keep clean. Food particles become trapped along the uneven biting surfaces, and if you do not get your molars clean and keep them flossed to remove food particles, you encourage bacterial growth - which causes cavities.
When you have a cavity in one of your smaller teeth, it can usually be spotted easily. However, because molars are so large and their biting surfaces are so uneven, cavities can be difficult to spot until they are quite large, which can make filling them difficult.
How Do Sealants Work?
Dental sealants are clear coatings that our dentist can apply to your molars. Most sealants are made from resin, but they can also be made from plant material or synthetic material with glass isomers that help protect your molars. The process dentists use to apply sealants is simple and painless. Usually, dentists brush the sealant onto the biting surface of your molars and then use a special light to harden it. Sealants keep out both bacteria and food particles.
Sealants are used primarily on molars because dentists know that a cavity-free tooth is stronger and healthier than a tooth with a cavity, even if that cavity has been filled previously. Once you have a cavity in a tooth, the tooth has been structurally compromised, which means it is no longer as strong as it was. The deeper the cavity is, the weaker your tooth is.
The best way to protect your molars is to prevent them from getting cavities. Because molars can be so cavity-prone, applying sealants to them is a great way to do this. Researchers found that sealants can protect your molars from bacteria and food particles 80 percent of the time for the first couple of years and up to 50 percent of the time up to four years after our dentist applies sealants.
Who Should Get Sealants?
Several groups of people should consider getting sealants, one of the most important being children. Since the 1940s, dentists have been using fluoride in toothpaste and dental treatments to protect teeth. Over the last 80 years, the number of people who have managed to keep their teeth has increased significantly. Think about members of your own family. Your great-grandparents or great-great-grandparents most likely had dentures because they lost their teeth around mid-life. Depending on how old you are, your grandparents may also have dentures. Water systems began adding fluoride to city water after World War II, and toothpaste companies in the 1950s also added fluoride.
Fluoride helps to harden your teeth and also helps to repel bacteria. Fluoride works very well on the smooth surfaces of your teeth, which comprise most of your tooth surfaces - except the biting surfaces of molars, which are crooked and uneven. Once your children begin to get molars around age six, they become prone to cavities. The brushing techniques of children are not as thorough as those of adults, and they are likely to miss molar areas. By applying the sealant to the molars and reapplying every few years, you are helping those molars remain strong for the rest of their life.
Another group of people who should get dental sealants is adults without cavities. Less than 10 percent of adults have no cavities at all. For those adults, having our dentist apply sealants adds just another layer of protection for your molars to protect them from cavities down the road. The older you are, the more likely you are to eventually get a cavity.
Also, some adults have genetically deep pits in their molars. These biting surfaces are deeper and more uneven when compared to the molars of other adults. If you have genetically deep biting surfaces of your molars, you may want to consider sealants to protect your molar biting surface.
Should I Get Sealants?
You may be concerned that sealants add something to your teeth that nature did not intend you to have. However, if you think about it, there are lots of things you do and take each day to help protect your body. You have health insurance, homeowner insurance, and car insurance to protect your body and your property against a crisis. You probably take medicine to prevent diseases, and when you get sick, you go to the doctor to prevent you from getting sicker.
Dental sealants act as a protective layer of security for the hardest working teeth in your mouth - the molars. By allowing our dentist to apply dental sealants, you are keeping bacteria from causing cavities on the biting surface of your molars. You can also help your children have healthier teeth for life by sealing their molars against cavities. Because tooth decay is the most common disease on the planet, you try to protect their teeth and yours for a lifetime against tooth decay.
Taking the Next Steps
If you are thinking about getting sealants for yourself and your children, you should contact Djawdan Center for Implant and Restorative Dentistry at (443) 569-8764
as soon as possible. That way, we can arrange appointments for your whole family. The faster you contact us, the faster you can protect your teeth. Reach out to our office today. |
