Dental Sealants Procedure

It’s quick, it’s painless, and it can spare you or your child from getting cavities. Dental sealants are a breakthrough in dentistry that is helping people to keep their teeth healthy. They’re highly recommended for children as soon as molars and premolars emerge. The grooved and fissured surfaces of these teeth are hard to clean properly, and dental sealants will prevent acids from plaque from eating away at tooth enamel. Even adults can benefit from dental sealants.

Preparing the tooth for dental sealants

Before sealants can be applied, the surface of the tooth has to be thoroughly cleaned. Then your dentist at Royal Centre Dental Group will apply an acidic etching compound to the surface, leaving it on for about a minute before you rinse it away. This not only prepares the tooth surface so that the sealant can bond to tooth surfaces, but also kills any lurking bacteria so that they won’t be sealed in under the sealant.

The etching compound is acidic, but it won’t hurt you if you get a little of it on your tongue. It may taste a little sharp and bitter, but it isn’t such a strong acid that it will be corrosive. The etchant slightly roughens the surface of the tooth so that it’s ready to receive the sealant, and the dentist will use air to blow the tooth completely dry to prepare for the sealant application.

Applying the sealant

A small brush or syringe is used to apply the polymer sealant. At this stage, it is runny, so it flows into all the fissures of the tooth surface easily. Application focuses on the fissures, cracks, or grooves that we see on the top of molars and premolars. The whole chewing surface isn’t covered. Most of it is easy enough to keep clean, o it doesn’t need the coating.

Now, the dentist uses a blue light to cure or dry the sealant so that it sets hard. It only takes about 60 seconds to cure the sealant, but the dentist has to move the light around to ensure curing from every angle.

Checking it carefully

You don’t want any areas where the sealant is so thick that it alters the way you bite or chew. You also don’t want any missed spots that will leave the way open for tooth decay. Your dentist carefully checks how the sealant’s condition, and if necessary, he or she will buff the surface of the tooth to thin it a little, The drill is used, but because it is only working on the surface, no aesthetic is necessary.

Quick and easy, but do follow up

The whole process takes about five minutes per tooth. Straight after your treatment, you will be able to eat and drink as normal. However, sealants can chip or ear away, so whenever you go for a dental check-up, your dentist will examine sealed teeth to ensure that the coating is still intact.

Dental sealants can help to protect your teeth, and kids who are treated with sealants have far less cavities than those who don’t.

For anything else, feel free to request a dental appointment, with our dentist in downtown Vancouver.