Should Your Child Get Sealants On Their Baby Teeth?

If your child hasn't yet had their adult teeth come in, you might think that you don't need to take extra precautions to guard their baby teeth. After all, baby teeth are designed to fall out and be replaced by adult teeth. However, it might surprise you to learn that dental sealants could greatly benefit your child's oral health, even if they haven't had a single adult tooth come in yet. Read on to learn how sealants can protect your child:

What Sealants Do

Dental sealants create an extra protective layer over your teeth. You can think of dental sealants as an extra layer of enamel.

Sealants help to protect against erosion, bacterial invasion, and dental decay. They can be used on teeth of any age, size, or variety. They're also completely unnoticeable to the eye, so they won't make teeth stand out or make children feel self-conscious.

Why It's Worth Protecting Baby Teeth

While it's true that your child's baby teeth will eventually fall out and be replaced, that doesn't mean that they're invulnerable to problems. Even if they're not permanent, baby teeth can still decay and spread bacteria to the rest of the mouth. When decay digs a hole into a tooth of any kind, it can allow dangerous bacteria into the tooth's interior pulp, which can infect the tooth's root. From there, the infection can spread throughout the mouth, quickly resulting in a painful and dangerous problem.

While dental sealants aren't a substitute for good oral care at home and at the dentist, they can offer one more way to help keep your child's oral health in good condition.

What to Expect

Dental sealants are extremely easy to set up. If you choose to get your child dental sealants, your dentist will perform an examination of your child's teeth. If everything looks healthy, they'll then perform a thorough cleaning to remove bacteria, plaque, and tartar. When the teeth are clean and dry, they're ready to have their sealants applied.

Sealants are applied in a thin, wet coating over every tooth surface. Depending on the sealant, the dentist will either allow it to dry on its own or use a curing light to make it harden more quickly. The entire process takes a short amount of time and doesn't require any painful or traumatic experiences like dental drilling.

Getting your child tooth sealants for their baby teeth is an excellent idea. Anything you can do as a parent to help ensure that your child's mouth is healthy will benefit them in the future, and dental sealants are among your best options.

Check out a website like http://www.neufamilydental.com for more information and assistance.