Dental sealants for permanent teeth do not imply drilling or anesthesia and prevent tooth decay.
It is easy to have beautiful healthy teeth for a lifetime if we continuously take care of them starting from the early years. Therefore, a child must be taken regularly for dental examination, so the doctor may be able to preventively react against any possible affection (teeth decays, gum affections, dento-maxillary anomalies), to explain how to keep oral hygiene and also to explain its importance.
For children, just like for adults, the first impression can be very important. Dental Progress is the ideal place for a child’s first visit to a dentist precisely because here he will find a warm friendly and relaxing atmosphere, which will prove to be determinant for him. He will learn rules about hygiene and will receive advices but, at the same time, he will have fun.
The dentists from Dental Progress can help also the parents to take care of their children’s teeth by explaining them how to do it at different ages: when milk teeth appear and when they fall, starting when and how they should be brushed, how to prevent tooth decay at young ages, how a child should be prepared for his first visit at the dentist etc.
Pediatric dentistry is the branch of dentistry dealing with the study of odontal pathology (simple decays, severe decays, trauma, dystrophies), of periodontal pathology and of oral mucosa for children and teenagers, as well of the preventive and curative treatment for these affections. The development of the teeth is a long term process which starts from the embryonic stage and it ends postpartum around the age of 15 when the forming of the M12 years apex completes (exclusively M3) -> the odontogenesis disruptions caused by genetics or the environment lead to dental development anomalies.
Teething age of primary teeth:
- Temporary central incisor: 6-8 months;
- Temporary lateral incisor: 8-12 months
- Temporary canine teeth: 16-20 months
- First temporary molar: 12-16 months
- Second temporary molar: 20-24 months
Teething age of permanent teeth:
- Upper central incisor
- Lower central incisor
- Upper lateral incisor
- Lower lateral incisor
- Lower and upper first molars
- Lower and upper canines
- Lower and upper second molars
What is sealing?
The sealing is the immunization procedure for tooth surfaces with accentuated contours (shortly after their eruption) for patients at high cariogenic risk, but with a poor oral care. The aim of sealing is to close the occlusal and oral contours of the erupted teeth in order to avoid the transformation of the areas of plaque stagnation into ecological niches.
If the sealing is being properly done it can be up to 80% efficient.
The teeth sealing is recommended for children starting with the age of 6, on the condition that the concerned teeth have not been affected by decay.
The teeth sealing procedure is not painful, does not require drilling or anesthesia, which makes it extremely tolerable for children.
Why is it indicated to seal the adult molars right away after their eruption?
Reaching the grooves with the tooth brush is pretty difficult and it requires skills, patience and insistence, wonderful qualities, but hard to find to a six year old child. The food remained on tooth grooves could lead afterwards to tooth decay lesions. The sealing of grooves will eliminate the possibility for tooth decay to settle.
What does dental sealant consist in?
Dental sealing is a completely noninvasive procedure that is absolutely painless, it takes from 10 to 15 minutes, usually it does not imply either anesthesia or drilling. It is a technique easy to use for children, being highly tolerated by them. In order to benefit of sealing the vital condition for tooth is not to have decay lesions. Sealing consists in loading the grooves with special materials (sealant). The specific feature of the sealant material is that transforms the retentive occlusal surfaces of the tooth into smooth, easy to clean zones. The prophylactic effect can be increased by adding fluoride into the sealant material. This way fluoride, which has a protective role for the enamel, will be continuously released.
When is sealing recommended?
Sealing is recommended when:
- The patient is at high decay risk;
- Tooth grooves have stains, but no decay at dentin underlying level has been highlighted on examination or x-ray;
- Grooves morphological shown and valued as zones at high risk;
- Children consume large amounts of sweets;
- Children refuse fluoridation treatment.
The advantages of sealing:
- Does not require drilling for the preparation of a cavity (noninvasive technique)
- The check of an accurate covering and polymerization is very easy
- It is a simple and harmless routine technique;
- It can be renewed without causing any damage to the tooth, which remains intact;
- It offers vital protection for the period when the tooth is at the highest risk of decay;
- The excess of sealant or air bubbles are easy to see and remove;
- The prophylactic effect can be increased by adding fluoride in sealant.
The disadvantages of sealing:
- To perform an accurate sealing it is required a trained staff;
- Sealing can be made only on the occlusal side of a tooth, so not all tooth surfaces can be sealed;
- Because of the deterioration of adhesive soaking in time, the effect of sealing is temporary therefore sealing should be redone at a certain period of time;
- It ensures only the role of mechanical barrier for retentive zones, eliminating the risk for decay lesions to settle.