Your child’s permanent teeth need to serve them for the rest of their lives. Encouraging an effective and consistent oral hygiene routine helps develop life-long good oral health habits. At the same time, there are additional preventative measures that can be used to help prevent the development of cavities.
The premolars and molars in the back of your child’s mouth can often have deep pits and fissures in the tooth enamel. These areas can start to trap residual food particles and plaque, and it’s hard to effectively clean these areas with brushing alone. This can result in the formation of large cavities on the biting surfaces, which requires large inlay or onlay fillings to repair. Later in life, these large fillings could prove problematic.
If your child has deep textures on their molars and premolars, Dr. Jessie Hunter might recommend protecting the biting surfaces with dental sealants in Allen, Texas.
These products are a durable, plastic, resin option that the dentist carefully paints onto the biting surfaces of molars and premolars. A special ultraviolet light will be used to harden the resin, creating a protective layer. If plaque and food particles get trapped on the biting surfaces, the dental sealants will prevent bacteria from having direct access to the underlying tooth enamel.
Dental sealants are often applied immediately after your child’s regular dental checkup at Allen Pediatric Dentistry. This way we known the enamel is perfectly clean. The dental sealants are very durable and can help protect the biting surfaces for several years.
If you have any questions about dental sealants, you should call Allen Pediatric Dentistry at 972-535-8169 to schedule an appointment.