When Should I Consider Sealants for My Teeth?

Molars are more vulnerable to dental decay than front teeth. Learn how dental sealants keep plaque and bacteria out of the deep grooves of these important “chewing teeth” to significantly reduce your cavity risk — for years at a time.

Did you know that tooth decay — the underlying cause of dental cavities — is an infectious disease? In fact, it’s the most prevalent chronic infection among both children and adults: Some 46% of kids and teens have at least one untreated or restored cavity, and 90% of adults have (or had) tooth decay.

The good news? Cavities are preventable. You can reduce your risk of tooth decay by:

Brushing and flossing properly
Using fluoridated toothpaste
Limiting between-meals snacks
Eating and drinking less sugar
Having routine dental cleanings

When you visit our skilled team at Burbank Dental Studio for a cleaning and exam every six months, Dr. Annie Aboulian may offer another preventive dental care treatment — getting sealants on the grooved chew surfaces (topside) of your back teeth (molars).

Here’s what you should know about this simple yet highly effective “anti-cavity shield.”

Dental sealants explained

When it comes to preserving optimal oral health, an ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure. Put another way: It’s always better to prevent cavities in the first place than to treat a spot of decay that’s already eating away at your tooth. Sealants are part of that “ounce of prevention.”

What they are

Sealants are thin, liquid coatings that are “painted on” to cavity-prone areas of enamel. Once the sealant is applied, Dr. Annie uses a special light to harden (cure) it into a protective shield that seals out harmful bacteria and plaque to prevent cavities.

Why they’re used

While you can develop a cavity on any area of enamel, two hard-to-clean oral areas are especially prone to plaque buildup and decay: the tight spots between your teeth and the deep pits and grooves on the chew surfaces of your molars.

Whereas flossing and mouthwash can clean the tight areas between your teeth, both the back-of-the-mouth location and the microscopic size and depth of the indentations on your molars’ chew surfaces make them hard to clean completely with normal brushing.

Sealants address this problem by forming a protective barrier over these challenging pits and grooves, shielding the area from plaque and sugar-eating bacteria — the central catalysts of tooth decay.

How well they work

Once a sealant is applied to the chew surface of a molar, it can prevent up to 80% of cavities for two years, and continue to protect against 50% of cavities for two more years. Sealants typically wear off within five years, but they can be replaced to restore optimal cavity protection.

Can I benefit from sealants?

Sealants are a standard offering of preventive dental care for children and adolescents. We recommend applying them soon after their molars and premolars have fully erupted — and before they’ve been subjected to plaque buildup, bacteria, and decay.

Kids and tweens

Most kids receive their first sealants at about the age of 6, which is typically when their first permanent molars come in. Their second sealant application occurs around the age of 12, when their second set of permanent molars appears.

Older teens

Older teens can benefit from sealants, too, either through the replacement of old sealants that have worn out, or a first set of sealants if they never received them. To receive sealants, molars and premolars must be decay-free and can’t have any fillings; sealants don’t adhere to fillings, and fillings aren’t prone to decay, either.

Adults of all ages

Like older teens, adults of all ages stand to gain substantial cavity protection from sealants — as long as the intended teeth are free of decay and fillings. Sealants can be especially helpful for those who have a significant family history of weak enamel or tooth decay.

How we apply your sealants

Applying a dental sealant is quick and painless, much like painting nails with nail polish. After we clean your teeth, we simply brush the special liquid sealant resin onto the molars or premolars that we want to protect. It covers the entire chew surface, seeping into the tiny pits and deep grooves, too.

Then, we shine a special light on each coated tooth to prompt a quick cure. It takes about one minute for the liquid sealant to harden into a long-lasting protective shield — and that’s all there is to it!

Protect your oral health today

If you like the idea of cutting your risk of getting cavities in your molars by up to 80%, ask us if you’re a candidate for dental sealants. Call Burbank Dental Studio in Burbank, California, today, or click online to request an appointment at your convenience.