Although most parents do a good job feeding their children healthy foods, they cannot control what they eat away from home. When they visit their grandparents, stay overnight with a friend, or are at school, they may get more than their fair share of soda, candy, and sugar-laden treats. To help protect their teeth against decay, dentists can put dental sealants on children’s teeth.
After our dentist at Mountain West Dental examines your child’s teeth, he may suggest adding a sealant to them as a way to prevent cavities. Despite good dental habits, the back teeth have many crevices where food can get caught and breakdown, causing plaque and tooth decay.
A sealant is a treatment that our dentist in Gillette will brush on your child’s back teeth. As it cools and begins to harden, it forms a thin layer of plastic-like material over the surfaces of the teeth. Our dentist will help the material harden with a curing light so that it stays intact when eating and chewing food.
After our dentist at Mountain West Dental brushes on the sealant and cures it, it can last up to 10 years. If at any time it tears or chewing wears a hole in it, our dentist can brush more of the sealant over the damage to cover and repair it.
Another advantage of dental sealants in Gillette is that they are very durable. You can brush your teeth as you would normally without worrying that a toothbrush can damage the protective layer on your teeth. Also, you can floss between teeth and use mouthwash without damaging it.
Sealants are not only good for children, but elderly or disabled people with mobility problems can use them as well. If they have trouble raising their arms or gripping toothbrushes due to arthritis in the hands, then the sealants can protect their teeth and keep them free from decay.
If you have children whose teeth do not have signs of decay or family members with healthy teeth who need extra help keeping them that way, bring them to our dentist at Mountain West Dental in Gillette to find out if dental sealants are right for them.