Fissure Sealants: A Simple Way to Protect Your Child's Teeth

We're all about healthy smiles, and today we're tackling tooth decay. (If you missed part one, we talked about why […]

We're all about healthy smiles, and today we're tackling tooth decay. (If you missed part one, we talked about why baby teeth are important - and why some kids can get cavities without even noticing.)

Fissure sealants are a great preventative treatment for decay

Brushing is great, but those back teeth can be tricky to properly clean! Food particles can still get stuck in the deep grooves. That's why these teeth are commonly known as ‘cavity magnets’!

But here's a cool trick: dentists can paint a special shield on those grooves which are the fissure sealants to keep food out. It's like a tiny raincoat for your teeth! And if a cavity is just starting, they can zap it away before it becomes a big problem. Basically, catching it early means a quick fix and a happy tooth!

Fissure sealants vs a filling

Back teeth have deep grooves in them, like little secret passages. If food gets stuck in those grooves, it's like a tiny monster attacking the castle wall! This is what we call tooth decay, and is when a filling is required. To do this, the decay is removed from the tooth and a filling is placed to rebuild the tooth. It’s kind of like putting a bandaid on the wall, but the wall is never quite as strong as before.

A fissure sealant is a step before this happens - a preventative. As per the diagram below, a fissure sealant is more like a coat of paint that is placed over the tooth, filling in the deep grooves. This stops food getting trapped in the grooves and turning into tooth decay.

What are the pros and cons of Fissure sealants?

Pros: Sealants help keep your teeth sparkling clean and cavity-free!

Cons: Getting a sealant might take a bit of time and does come at a cost. (But it's much easier and cheaper than having a filling done!)

Are fissure sealants the same material and process as fillings?

Yes - and no. There are different types of materials and techniques that dentists use to do fissure sealants, so it is worth asking your dentist about their method.

For us, our important first step is to thoroughly clean out the grooves of the tooth. We use a ‘bur’ for this as it cleans everything out - including the plaque. We then stain it with a dye to make sure that all the bacteria are gone and then we seal it up using an epoxy resin which is the longest lasting fissure sealant material. As mentioned above,not all sealant procedures are done the same. Some practitioners may use a faster, cheaper option called glass ionomer. It's kind of like a quick patch job. The problem is, sometimes the tooth cleaning step is skipped before this material is placed on the tooth. (That's like putting a bandaid on a dirty scrape – it might look okay on the outside, but the germs are still lurking underneath).

So how long will sealants last? We usually tell people their sealants will last 5 to 10 years, which is similar to the expected life span of a filling.

Are fissure sealants common in school age children and primary school age children?

The teeth are most susceptible to deep groove cavities are the molars: the 6 year old molars and 13 year old molars. Naturally everyone is different so some kids don’t need any, some we recommend one or two and in other cases we recommend all the molars get a fissure sealant as they are all susceptible. The best way to check if this is something yourself, or your child requires - book an appointment with us and the team can help guide you further.