The incidences of dental caries have increased significantly during the 21st century and affected the healthy and quality lives of many individuals. While the introduction and use of fluorides in the 1970s helped control the problem, the issue has persisted with serious consequences for people that experience the problem. One of the approaches that has been used to prevent the occurrences of dental caries is by using pits and fissures sealants. This paper analyzes pits and fissures sealants by considering their description, their benefits, individuals that benefit from them, and how it has impacted the role of dentists.
Description of Sealants
A dental sealant is a protective plastic coating applied on the biting surfaces of the back teeth, the premolars and molars, to protect the teeth from decay. The sealant works by forming a hard shield that keeps the bacteria and food from getting to the tiny groves within the teeth and cause decay.
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Importance of Sealants
Sealants have a variety of benefits for the individual with the main benefit being preventing the formation of tooth decay. The secondary data from Kumaran (2013) revealed that pit and fissure sealants were effective in the prevention of tooth decay. The study involved an examination of 40 children that had their first permanent molars and received different pit and fissure sealants. After the evaluation of the children after 6 and 12 months, it was revealed that resin-based sealants actually helped to prevent tooth decay.
Sealants are also beneficial because they are a painless and cost-effective way to prevent dental carries. As a preventive approach, it is costs cheaper to prevent the caries than to spend huge amounts of money in future to treat tooth decay. A proper application of the sealants will make them last for several years.
Individuals That Benefit from Sealants
Individuals that can benefit from sealants are both children and adults. The secondary data from Naaman, El-Housseiny, and Alamoudi (2017) recommended that sealants should be applied to children that have a high risk for dental caries in order to realize optimum effectiveness. Children develop their first permanent teeth between the age of 6 and 7 years and sealants should be applied at this time. The other set that appear between age 11 and 14 years should also be sealed. Adults that do not have sealants should also seek to place them. Even though sealants are high beneficial to everyone, many people are not aware of what fissures or their benefits. According to the primary data from the Junger et al. (2019) only 46.3% of adults and 55.1% of parents had knowledge of dental sealants. This indicates that there is a need for people to become aware of sealants and its benefits in preventing dental caries and tooth decay.
Role of Dentists
The dentists are involved in the application of the sealants. They first examine the teeth and inform the patient about which teeth should be sealed. The examination involves checking whether the fissures are deep enough to allow for sealing. The sealants are then applied and the procedure can take a few minutes for every tooth. The tooth is cleaned thoroughly, prepared with a special solution, and then dried. The dentists should also be involved in checking the fissures on a regular basis so as to ensure that they are still intact. The dentist can add or replace the sealants so as to ensure that there is no decay whatsoever.
In conclusion, dental sealants are a plastic coating applied between the surfaces of the teeth to prevent dental caries and tooth decay. They are beneficial as a preventive dental care approach and are cost-effective. Dental sealants can be applied for both adults and children and is highly recommended to promote dental hygiene. The sealants should be applied by a dentist after examination of the teeth and then cleaning the teeth thoroughly.
References
Junger, M. L., Griffin, S. O., Lesaja, S., &Lorena, E. (2019). Awareness Among US Adults of Dental Sealants for Caries Prevention. Preventing Chronic Disease . DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd16.180398external icon .
Kumaran, P. (2013). Clinical evaluation of the retention of different pit and fissure sealants: a 1-year study. International journal of clinical pediatric dentistry, 6(3), 183.
Naaman, R., El-Housseiny, A., & Alamoudi, N. (2017). The use of pit and fissure sealants—A literature review. Dentistry journal, 5(4), 34.
