Sealants

Sealants are recommended for back teeth as soon as the teeth erupt into the oral cavity.

The back teeth have a rough chewing surface full of grooves and pits making them difficult to clean even with routine brushing. Because of the rough surface this is the most common place we find cavities. A sealant will fill in these grooves sealing them off from the rest of the mouth and helping to prevent future cavities.

To place a sealant the tooth normally does not need to be prepared by a drill first. Instead the surface is “etched” to create a rough surface and then a thin flowable layer of tooth-colored material is applied over the grooves. As we get older this thin layer can wear away but it is especially important during the developmental years when as children, our oral hygiene isn’t always as good as it should be.

There have been recent news articles warning patients about a common ingredient in sealants called BPA. The material used for sealants in our clinic contains no BPA.