Cavities are no fun! When your little one has one, it can harm their oral health and leave them with a toothache. Prevention is key to preserving a healthy smile. That’s why we recommend dental sealants to protect your child’s teeth from cavities.
The chewing surfaces of back teeth are not smooth. They have deep grooves and pits that are narrower than a toothbrush bristle, which means the one place food and bacteria collect most is the one place a brush cannot reach. That is why the overwhelming majority of childhood cavities appear on molars, and why sealants exist: a thin resin coating flowed into those grooves seals them off, leaving a smooth surface a brush can actually clean.
Sealants do the most good when they go on soon after a tooth erupts, before decay has a chance to start. The first permanent molars arrive around age six and the second molars around twelve, so those are the usual moments — though cavity-prone baby molars are sealed too when your child's risk warrants it. A tooth that already has a cavity cannot be sealed; it needs a filling first, which is a large part of why we push to get sealants on early rather than “next time.”
Nothing your child will complain about. The tooth is cleaned and dried, a conditioning gel is applied briefly and rinsed away, the liquid resin is flowed into the grooves, and a curing light hardens it in seconds. There is no drilling, no numbing and no injection, it takes a minute or two per tooth, and your child eats normally straight afterward. For many children this is the appointment that convinces them dentistry is not frightening.
A sealant protects the surface it covers. It does nothing for the sides of teeth or the spaces between them, which is why flossing still matters, and it is not a substitute for brushing or for cutting down how often your child has sugary drinks. Sealants also wear: they can chip or thin over years of chewing, so they are checked at every set of cleanings and exams and repaired or reapplied when needed. Alongside them, fluoride varnish strengthens the surfaces a sealant cannot cover, and the two together are the core of a preventive plan.
A sealant is a minute of painless treatment. The cavity it prevents is a filling, and the cavity left too long is a pulpotomy, a crown, sometimes sedation, and a child who now has an opinion about the dentist. Given the choice between coating a groove today and drilling it in two years, we will always argue for the coating.
Dental sealants can prevent 80% of all cavities and tooth decay.
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Molar pits and fissures are narrower than a toothbrush bristle. Sealing them removes the place where most childhood cavities start.
No drilling, no numbing and no injection — a minute or two per tooth, and your child eats normally straight afterward.
A sealed groove today avoids the filling, and potentially the crown, that the same groove would need in a couple of years.
Your pediatric dentist identifies newly erupted molars and any cavity-prone baby teeth, and confirms the surfaces are decay-free.
The tooth is cleaned and dried, resin is flowed into the grooves and hardened with a curing light — a minute or two, with nothing to numb.
Sealants wear over years of chewing, so we inspect them at each routine exam and repair or reapply as needed.
Sealants have been used in children's dentistry for decades and the application involves no drilling, no numbing and no removal of tooth structure. If you have questions about the material, ask us at the appointment and we will tell you exactly what we use and why.
Often several years, but they thin and chip with chewing, so they are not permanent. We check them at every routine exam and repair or reapply where needed — which is one of the practical reasons not to skip six-month visits.
Absolutely. A sealant only protects the chewing surface it covers; the sides of teeth and the contacts between them are untouched, and that is where floss earns its keep. Sealants reduce risk — they do not replace the routine.
Usually the permanent molars, sealed soon after they erupt around ages six and twelve, plus cavity-prone baby molars when your child's risk justifies it. A tooth that already has decay cannot be sealed — it needs a filling first — which is why timing matters.
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