Dental sealants
A thin resin coating painted into the grooves of a new back tooth, sealing out the bacteria that a toothbrush bristle is too fat to reach.
The fissures on a molar's biting surface can be deeper and narrower than the bristles meant to clean them. Food and bacteria get in; the brush does not.
Not between the teeth and not at the gum, but in the grooves of the first permanent molars, which arrive around age six.
A sealed groove cannot trap what it cannot admit.
The tooth is cleaned and dried, a conditioning gel applied and washed off, then the resin is painted on and set with a light. No drilling, no injection, and it takes a few minutes per tooth.
Sealants wear and occasionally chip, so we check them at every cleaning appointment and top them up when they need it. They are usually placed soon after the first and second permanent molars come through.
Questions
Usually as soon as the first permanent molars have fully erupted, around six, and again for the second molars around twelve.
Occasionally, where an adult has deep grooves and a high decay rate. It is much less common.
No. They protect the biting surface only. Decay between teeth still needs flossing and still needs checking.
First visits, sealants and good habits.
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The appointment that prevents the other eight.
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Gum disease caught, treated and kept in check.
Explore →The mouth read as part of the whole body.
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If it has been years, start here.
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Pain, a fracture or a crown that came off.
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The first appointment is an examination and a conversation. There is no obligation to book treatment at the end of it.