The goal of daily oral hygiene care is to protect your teeth from decay and cavities. The most vulnerable of your teeth are the ones in the back that do the hard work of chewing your food. Because of their location, it’s hard to clean them properly, so harmful oral bacteria tend to collect on their rough, uneven surfaces and let plaque accumulate on them.
You can protect your molars from decay by sealing out this harmful bacterial invasion with the help of dental sealants. Together with daily oral care and regular visits to your dentist for checkups and cleanings, you can keep cavities at bay. Sealants work by coating the tooth enamel surfaces to keep out holes from developing.
Unprotected molars are havens for plaque accumulation. With the help of dental sealants, you can not only stop decay from penetrating the enamel but put a halt to early decay from progressing. This is important because your tooth suffers when dental decay makes its way through the dentin layer beneath the enamel and reaches the tooth pulp, where the tooth nerves and roots reside.
How effective are dental sealants? Studies have borne out that molars with dental sealants have lowered cavities by 80%. In addition, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) reports that school-aged children with dental sealants have three times fewer cavities as their peers without sealant protection.
As you can see, dental sealants are proven effective for healthy molars. If you would like to know more about sealant protection or want to schedule an appointment, please call our Pristine Smiles team at 717-790-2184 today. Dr. Nandhini Bogavelli is always ready to help you keep your smile healthy and strong in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania!