Healthy smiles are achieved through your daily efforts–brushing, flossing, as well as routine dental visits for cleanings and exams. But it can still be challenging to prevent decay, particularly in the back of the mouth which is harder to clean properly. To protect those back teeth, the molars, you can enlist the help of dental sealants.
The molars, with their rough and uneven chewing surfaces, attract oral debris and dental plaque as bacteria grows and attacks the tooth’s protective enamel. With just the thin coated protection from dental sealants, the molars can not only keep cavities from penetrating the enamel, but sealants can actually halt tooth decay in the early stage of the disease.
As the sealant coats, the surface of the tooth, the bacterial biofilm (plaque) can’t penetrate. This is important because the plaque bacteria release harmful acids thanks to feeding on oral debris from food. Without this protective coating, molars are vulnerable to tiny holes being created by this acid erosion. Once the enamel has been breached, cavities can form as the acid reaches the inner layers of the tooth beneath the enamel.
In fact, studies show that dental sealants on molars lowered tooth decay by almost 80%. The CDS reports that children of school age with dental sealants have three times fewer cavities than their peers without sealants.
If you are prone to tooth decay and cavities, we encourage you to talk to our dentist about dental sealants. You can reach our John Blake, DDS, PC team in Lake Orion, Michigan, by calling 248-693-5800 today. Our dentist, Dr. John Blake is ready to help you create a cavity-free smile!