SEALANTS

Dental Sealants

Dental sealants are a great way to protect your teeth from decay that can be very hard to prevent, otherwise. Almost every child should get them, and many teens and even adults can benefit from them. A sealant is basically a plastic that coats your teeth, keeping out food and bacteria that cause decay. They are inexpensive, but can make a huge difference in avoiding cavities.
If you would like to learn how sealants can benefit your oral health, please call  (02) 4501 7930  or book an appointment today with a Hawkesbury family dentist at Riverlands Dental in North Richmond.

Who Benefits from Dental Sealants

Dental sealants can help virtually anyone reduce their cavity risk. However, the people most likely to benefit from dental sealants are those who have:
  • A high-sugar or acidic diet
  • Difficulty cleaning teeth thoroughly
  • Deep cracks in molars
  • Retained wisdom teeth
  • Current or recurrent decay in back teeth
You can see why kids are likely to be the best beneficiaries of this approach. Kids love candies and juices that can put them at risk, but they don’t yet know how to clean their teeth well. Getting dental sealants as a child may help avoid more serious dental restorations like dental implants in the future.

Most of us have deep cracks in our molars when they first emerge, though these may get fill in after cavities if we don’t prevent decay.

If people keep their wisdom teeth, they can be hard to clean, but sealants can provide good help.

You don’t have to be cavity-free to get sealants. Sealants can be used on top of fillings to help prevent secondary decay.

Dental sealants are a great investment. They can last up to ten years, and people who get them can reduce their risk of cavities by up to 80%!
  • Dental Sealants Contain BPA. Are They Safe?

    Yes. Tests show that BPA release from dental sealants is about 0.9 nanograms a day (there are 1,000,000,000 nanograms in a gram). The tolerable daily intake (TDI) for BPA is about 94,000 nanograms.

  • I Didn’t Get Sealants as a Child. Can I Get Them Now?

    Yes. Teens and adults can get sealants even if they didn’t get them as children. We will recommend sealants if you are at high risk for cavities on back teeth. It’s a good idea if you decide to keep wisdom teeth.

Why Dental Sealants Reduce Cavity Risk


Dental sealants try to reduce the risk of cavities mostly on the back teeth, called molars. Molars have lots of deep crevices that were very helpful when people needed to crunch and grind nuts, seeds, branches, and other rough foods. These days, they’re less necessary, and they can increase risk.

These deep cracks and fissures on the teeth can become places where oral bacteria shelter. As oral bacteria feed on sugars in the mouth, they secrete acid that dissolves tooth enamel, making the area larger for the bacteria. That’s basically a cavity.

Sealants keep oral bacteria out of these crevices so that you can brush them away before they cause cavities.


The Dental Sealant Process

Dental sealants are easy to place. We can usually do an entire mouth in just a few minutes. First, we’ll clean the teeth to be treated. If necessary, we’ll remove any damaged enamel, with a drill or with air abrasion. If necessary, we might place a filling.  

Then we’ll use a light acid wash to make the surface easier for the sealant to bond with. Finally, we paint the sealant on the treated teeth.

Get Dental Sealants in Hawkesbury

If you are looking to protect your teeth from decay in Hawkesbury, we can help. Please call (02) 4501 7930 or book an appointment today with a family dentist at Riverlands Dental in North Richmond.
Book An Appointment Today
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