The Benefits of Dental Sealants for Kids in London
Friday, October 14th, 2011Now come on all you lovely parents in London, yes you do the best that you can to bring up you’re kids the right way, but can you honestly say what they get up to the moment you have your backs turned? Without fitting them with a suit of armor, kids will be kids and by nature, will be exploring and experimenting with all manner of avenues. This also goes for what they put in their mouths and enjoying all those fantastic sweets from the shop around the corner. Now, you can teach them the ways of oral hygiene but you may be fighting a losing battle against the wonderful temptations of all things sugary. But if you care enough to help your children to steer away from the evils of tooth decay, there is a little ‘ace’ you can play which will protect their teeth and take at least one weight off your mind- dental sealants. This is a perfect treatment for children in the fight against tooth decay and though your may have to take them shouting and screaming to the dentist to get it done, it’s worth it. Essentially, it’s a small plastic coating that is laid over the surface of the tooth to protect the enamel from all the sweets they eat. It’s cheap too at around a fiver a tooth. Its not a long term solution for their habits, but it will allow the teeth to be protected and be saved from the peril of tooth decay- at least until the child grows up and be able to make informed decisions by themselves. By this time,

Central London dentists have been placing dental sealants for a long time to seal out dental decay. These sealants are almost always placed on the back teeth; the child’s premolars and molars, on the biting surfaces. These dental sealants are made of plastic, and act as coatings to seal out decay and protect these teeth against dental decay that usually occurs in the grooves of the teeth where they are placed. The teeth grooves are usually very small, and cannot be brushed adequately. The bristles of the toothbrush have trouble reaching the dental caries in these grooves. In addition, if the dental sealants are placed over areas of minimal tooth decay, they will reduce and even stop the progression of dental caries development. Your Central London dentist would like to place these sealants on your child’s teeth as soon as the permanent molars erupt; usually at 6 to 12 years old. Dental sealants aren’t placed on teeth that already have fillings. Dental sealant are relatively easy to place and do not require any drilling of the teeth or anaesthesia. The teeth are treated with a mild etching material, thoroughly dried, and then the dental sealant are placed and cured using a dental light with a halogen bulb. This procedure is very safe. Dental sealants last from 2 to 4 years, but have already been reported to last for 10+ years. Visit your Central London dentist to seal out decay from your child’s teeth.