Dental Sealants
Marysville, WA
 We can place a barrier separating your teeth from plaque and debris in the most vulnerable areas. Dental sealants are a plastic coating that we can painlessly apply to help prevent tooth decay and the development of cavities in the crevices of your molars, where bacteria can easily hide. Preventive measures, such as sealants, can keep your teeth healthier longer, and our team at Grove Street Family Dentistry wants to help you keep your teeth for a lifetime.
Dental education, techniques and health have advanced greatly in recent years. We have advancements in the dental technology and tools we use, and advancements in understanding the role that a healthy smile places in our overall health. In decades past, it was generally assumed that children get cavities.
Today, we understand that they don’t have to. We know more now about how diet, hygiene, and education helps in dental health, and we have several preventive dentistry measures that can help. One of those preventive measures that has made a huge difference is the placement of dental sealants on all of our minor age patients who have had their permanent molars erupt, and some of our adult patients as well.
Sealants are a liquid plastic coating that we apply with simply a brush. The process begins with a dental cleaning, we want to remove any harmful bacteria. The area is then cleansed with an acid wash to roughen up the enamel just a touch, this will help the sealant adhere better. We can then paint the sealant on and harden it in place with a blue light.
Sealants are easy to apply, easy to check the status of, and often last more than five years. Best of all, studies have shown an 80% reduction in the development of cavities in children with sealants, many children reached adulthood without ever having one at all.
Are Sealants Just for Kids?
We recommend dental sealants for all of our young patients once they start receiving their permanent molars. Children are still developing good hygiene habits, and we understand that there are spots that they are going to miss, some spots can even be too small for brush bristles to get! We want to help your children protect their teeth while they are still learning to care for their bodies, our hope is that they still have a hundred years with those teeth.
We also recommend the placement of dental sealants for any of our patients, child, teen or adult, who have areas on their molars that are proving to be troublesome, or hard to keep clean. It is our goal to help set our patients up with success, not failure, in their oral health. All of our patients can inquire if dental sealants would be a good option for them.
Preventive Care
Preventive care refers to steps that can be taken to prevent disease, damage or trauma. It is why we wear helmets when we ride a bike, or life vests when we boat.
In dentistry, we also have preventive care, preventive steps in dentistry include:
| • |
Brushing, Flossing and Rinsing: Whether you have sealants or not, the best way to prevent disease in your mouth is through daily brushing, flossing and rinsing. We recommend taking these steps twice a day, though establishing a good nighttime routine is especially important.
|
| • |
Dental Cleanings and Exams: Seeing a hygienist and dentist once or twice a year is an important step in preventive care. We remove harmful bacteria that have hardened and can not be removed with a toothbrush, and look for problems or potential problems.
|
| • |
Fluoride Treatment: Some water systems have a fluoride additive, some do not, especially if you live more rural and drink well water. Fluoride helps remineralize teeth and makes them strong. We can provide fluoride treatments when we note the enamel is thin.
|
| • |
Dental Sealants: Sealants provide a shield to the tooth, blocking vulnerable areas from bacteria. We can reduce the incidence of decay developing with the placement of dental sealants. |
Please contact us if you have any questions. |
