You may have heard about the sealants. Sealants are thin plastic coatings which are painted on the chewing surfaces of back teeth. Sealants are placed in the dental offices or in schools. The procedure of placing sealants is pretty easy. The plastic solution is painted on the chewing surfaces of back teeth and this solution hardens pretty quickly after application. The sealants can be both clear and tinted. The tinted sealants are easy to find applied on the teeth.

Application of sealants is not a new concept. They have been around for a long time.  A research led by NIDCR led to the development of sealants in 1960s. However, not many people really what sealants really are. This is the reason that less than 20% of children in United States get sealants applied on their teeth.

Typically, sealants can last for more than 10 years. However, you need to bring your child to the dentist regularly in order to make sure that applied sealants are chipped or worn out. The repairing of sealants is quite easier. The dentist would add extra material on the teeth as a mean for replenishment.

The cost sealant for one tooth is lesser than that of filling for one tooth. But one thing that you need to keep in mind is that a sealant can help you save the cost of filling and other dental treatments. When you apply sealant on healthy tooth, it tends to stay safe from the attack of germs and bacteria. Thus, you wouldn’t need to get fillings.

The number one reason for getting sealants is that they help the teeth to stay safe from infections which tend to occur due to interaction between food particles and bacteria. Hence, you can assume lower risk of tooth decay. Here, you may also want to know about tooth decay. Tooth decay is formed due to interaction between food particles and bacteria. This interaction results in the production of acids which start thinning the tooth enamel, leading to the development of holes in the teeth. The holes, in early stages, are referred to as tooth decay.

You may wonder why tooth decay may occur on the back teeth very easily. Well, it’s due to the fact that oral hygiene practices normally fail to address the cleaning requirements of those teeth. And then these teeth get their fair share of bacterial attacks. As a result, the occurrence of tooth decay in those teeth is quite probable. In order to stay safe from these attacks, you can get your child’s teeth sealed by a professional dentist.