The Facts About Dental Sealants

Sealants can help preserve your child's smile for a lifetime. Though dental sealants are not a cure-all in preventing tooth decay, they are cost-effective and helpful to patients-particularly children-in controlling decay-causing bacteria from the chewing surfaces of back teeth. We base our diagnosis and recommendation for dental sealants on the patient’s susceptibility to tooth decay and how the teeth were shaped when they originally formed below the gum. Though there is no specific age at which sealants are indicated, often we will recommend that the best time to apply them is when the six-year molars (then first permanent back teeth) appear.

How do sealants help prevent decay?
Sealants are applied only to pit and fissure areas of specific teeth. Unfortunately, they cannot be applied to the surface in between teeth, where daily flossing is recommended to prevent decay.

Are Sealants suitable for all teeth?
Sealants are applied only to pit and fissure areas of specific teeth. Unfortunately, they cannot be applied to the surface in between teeth, where daily flossing is recommended to prevent decay. Though sealants are most often applied to children's teeth, many adults are now seeking the preventive benefits of pit and fissure sealants as well.