Dental Sealants Houston, TXDental Sealants in Houston provided by Dr. Frank Dunlap at Frank Dunlap, DDS  Dental sealants are an essential yet often overlooked aspect of preventive dental care. They help preserve and protect teeth from decay and promote long-term oral health. Dental sealants are not just for kids. They can help anyone with deep pits and grooves in their teeth, to help protect them from the build up of bacteria. Contact us at Frank Dunlap, DDS to find out more about dental sealants.Request an Appointment Also On This Page:
A Little Bit About Your TeethYour teeth are designed to break down food into manageable pieces so you can swallow the food and your stomach can finish the digestion process. Without your teeth, you would not be able to eat solid food - you would be restricted to a soft, liquid-based diet. Every tooth you have in your mouth has a specific purpose. Your incisors are in the front of your mouth. They are designed to slice your food into smaller pieces. The second kind of tooth is called the cuspid or canine. These teeth are pointed, and you use them to rip into your food, such as meat, to break it down. After your cuspids, you have premolars and molars. These teeth chew and crush food, although your premolars may also be used for tearing into food. The Importance of MolarsMany dentists consider molars to be the most important teeth in your mouth. Molars are your largest teeth, and they carry the bulk of chewing and crushing your food. You also have more molars in your jaw than any other teeth. If you have all of your molars, including your wisdom teeth, you have 12 molars total. In contrast, you have eight incisors and four canine teeth. One of the most interesting things about molars is that they have an irregular biting surface that helps them break food down. While the irregular biting surface is helpful for digestion, it can also cause problems. Molars are more prone to cavities than any other tooth. They are hard to keep clean by brushing and flossing because of the deep grooves in their surfaces. Molars are also harder to reach than any other tooth, so keeping them brushed and flossed perfectly is challenging. Where Sealants Come InDentists introduced the concept of dental sealants in the mid-20th century when dental care became a priority. Cities began adding fluoride to their municipal drinking water systems to keep tooth enamel hard and repel cavities. Toothpaste also included fluoride. While the addition of fluoride in water and toothpaste worked amazingly well for the smooth tooth surfaces on many of your teeth, fluoride does not work as well on the irregular biting surfaces of your molars. Because your molars are so prone to cavities, the last thing our dentist wants is for you to get a cavity on one of your molars. Once you have a cavity in your molar, the tooth is never as strong as it was before you had a cavity. Cavities weaken teeth, and even when the cavities are filled, the tooth remains weak and prone to damage. In the 1960s, dentists came up with the idea of using sealants on the biting surfaces of molars to help keep food and bacteria out. How Do Sealants Work?Sealants are clear resins that our dentist applies to the biting surface of your molars. The application process is very simple. Dentists apply the sealant in a liquid form and then use a special light to harden it. The sealant creates a barrier between the biting surface of your molars and bacteria and food particles. Most research on sealants indicates the protective coating prevents cavities in your molars 80 percent of the time for the first year and up to 50 percent of the time for up to five years after it is applied. Sealants can be applied and reapplied every few years to keep your molars cavity-free. Who Should Get Sealants?Sealants are a great idea for several groups of people. First, sealants are a great idea for children. Most children start to get their first molars around the age of six. Children have not been cleaning and flossing their teeth for very long, and they are likely to miss a few areas, especially on their back teeth. They are excellent candidates for dental sealants. When children have their molars sealed with dental sealants, the chances of their needing a filling for a cavity in their molars are reduced. Another group of people who benefit from sealants are adults who have a history of cavities or who have a genetic predisposition to deep molar biting surfaces or fissures. Some people have deeper molar surfaces than others, and because their biting surfaces are so deep, bacteria and food particles can easily exist there. Cleaning these molars is also extremely difficult, which means cavities are much more likely to occur. Should all adults get sealants? Most dentists say you should consider getting sealants on the biting surfaces of all of your molars unless you already have a filling there. You should also consider having the molars sealed for your children to prevent cavities. If you have been told you have deep biting surfaces on your molars, you should think about getting sealants as well. That way, you can prevent as many cavities in yourself and your children as possible. What Should I Do?If you are thinking about getting sealants for yourself or your family but are not sure whether they are right for you, it is always a good idea to speak to our dentist. You can contact Frank Dunlap, DDS at (346) 576-4411, and we will be happy to arrange a dental consultation for you. Our dental practitioners can take X-rays of your teeth, and our dentist can look at your teeth as well as the X-rays to give you an objective opinion on whether you or one of your family members need sealants. Give us a call today, or come by our office. We would love to schedule you for a chat with our dentist! Request an Appointment |
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