How to Prevent Cavities with Dental Sealants

Everyone is at risk of suffering from dental cavities. We can prevent that from happening by following good preventive dental care. It is better to avoid dental mishaps than for you to end up in the dental emergency unit. How do you do this? Well, it’s easy. Have you heard of dental sealants? You don’t need to sleep on this as dental sealants are steadily doing wonders in the dental world. If you need to prevent your teeth from being attacked by cavities and tooth decay you should get your dental sealants in San Antonio.

Dental sealants are preventive dental procedures that involve the use of thin coatings on the teeth to protect them from tooth decay and infections. When you visit the dentist for preventive dental care, dental sealants are one of the best recommendations you would probably get from your dentist. They are better used at an early stage in life. This means that as a parent you can take your child to a pediatric dentist near you to get dental sealants for preventive dental measures and care.

Adults are also not exempted from the use of dental sealants especially if they have undergone a teeth infection before. After getting treatment, dental sealants could be placed on the teeth to prevent the teeth from getting infected again. It might also interest you to know that dental sealants can protect your teeth against 90 percent of cavities for 2 years and more if good oral hygiene is practiced. Instead of getting a tooth filling, getting dental sealants is easily acquired.

What Are The Difference Between Dental Sealants And Dental Fillings?

Dental sealant and dental fillings have similar features. They are both placed as coverings on the teeth to protect the teeth from getting damaged. Also, they are not difficult dental procedures. Nevertheless, they have their differences. They are different in various ways.

Dental sealants prevent damages and cavities from affecting the teeth. Dental fillings, on the other hand, don’t prevent cavities. However, they are used after the damage has been done. Dental fillings are restorative dental treatments while dental sealants are preventive dental treatments.

Dental sealants and dental filings both last long and are strong dental accessories. However, dental sealants are temporary dental procedures while dental fillings are permanent dental procedures. A dental sealant can be easily removed after it’s been placed on the teeth especially when a new one needs to be placed on the teeth. This is not the same for dental fillings. They are placed on the teeth permanently and even if a dental filling gets removed it is mostly accidentally due to too much dental damage. Dental fillings are more expensive than dental sealants.

Furthermore, dental sealants and dental fillings are both made of different materials. Dental fillings consist of different materials like porcelain, silver amalgam, or composite resin. On the other hand, dental sealants are applied ok the teeth in a liquid form. However, they get harder or stiffened when a heating lamp is shone on them. You can see a dentist in 78209 for consultations about the use of preventive dental procedures.

How Do Dentists Place Dental Sealants On The Teeth?

Unlike some dental procedures that require the use of local anesthetics to numb the pain, dental sealant placement is a painless dental procedure. They don’t require the removal of any tooth structure. However, if you are the type that gets anxious before and during dental treatment, you can speak to your dentist then use sedatives to help you relax and feel comfortable before and during treatment.

The first thing you need to do is book an appointment with your dentist. You can see a dentist in San Antonio, TX for this procedure. The dentist begins the procedure by cleaning the teeth thoroughly with dental cleaning tools. The teeth are then allowed to get dried with a cotton or cheek guard also known as “dry angle” placed over it to prevent saliva from getting in contact with the teeth. After the teeth have been protected, the dentist will disinfect the teeth with disinfectants to prevent infections to get into the teeth and get rid of infections that have already found their way to the teeth before it gets sealed. After the teeth have been disinfected, the dentist will allow the teeth to remain dry again. This is when the sealants get attached or glued to the teeth and is placed on the enamel (the outer surface of the teeth). After the sealants have been placed on the teeth, a heating lamp would be shone on them to allow them to get hard. Once the sealants are tightly placed on the teeth successfully, the treatment becomes complete.

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