What Are The Types of Dental Sealants?

What Are The Types of Dental Sealants?

February 10, 2023

Sealants are a combination of chemicals, resins, and fillers. Composite resin and glass ionomer fillings are the two most common types of sealants used in preventive dentistry. However, each material has differences that pediatric dentists must consider before deciding on a treatment.

Some materials may be more resistant to wear, while others may flow more easily into your child’s tooth pits and fissures. However, regardless of the treatment option you choose, you should be aware that it is completely safe.

Some people are concerned that the sealant materials will be absorbed by the child’s body and cause harm, but credible studies refute these fears. Some of the common dental sealants that will be discussed below include glass ionomer, composite resin and

What Are The Three types of Sealants?

The three common types of dental sealants that can be used for your child include:

  1. Glass Ionomer

This treatment alternative is a more flexible paste that can be used on baby teeth. We don’t use light to cure this compound; instead, we combine two components to create an acid-base reaction in the patient’s teeth.

This flexible paste adheres to the teeth. It slowly releases fluoride, which strengthens the tooth enamel over time. Glass ionomer sealants are not as long-lasting as resin sealants. Nonetheless, they offer significantly better caries prevention benefits during treatment.

Because glass ionomer materials blend so well with a patient’s natural tooth color, many people prefer them as a functional and aesthetically pleasing treatment.

Because glass ionomer sealants release fluoride, they can reduce the risk of dental decay by up to 35%. In addition, fluoride has antibacterial properties that aid in tooth strength. The fluoride eventually runs out, but the enamel’s health and strength improve. Glass ionomer materials are also color-matched to natural teeth.

Glass ionomer sealants have a lower retention rate than the resin type, which means they require more maintenance. Glass ionomer sealants, on the other hand, offer better cavity protection than composite resin sealants.

  1. Composite Resin

These dental sealants do not release fluoride over time, so they do not benefit your child’s tooth enamel layers. However, they can be tooth-colored to blend in with the child’s natural teeth.

We use a resin that bonds to your teeth with the help of a dental curing light. The cry of the sealants with light is a quick process. But remember that they are sensitive to moisture. You can, however, leave those concerns to professionals like us! When getting dental sealants near you, your dentist will use a curing light to apply the composite resin sealants. Sealants are made of a plastic compound that matches the color of your natural teeth.

Composite resin materials are strong and provide long-term protection against cavities. They outlast glass ionomers and have a higher retention rate. Additionally, the material is the same color as your natural teeth

The primary disadvantage of composite resin sealants is that they lack acid-base bonding properties and thus do not omit fluoride.

  1. Fissure Sealants

A fissure sealant is a tooth-colored flowable filling material that is applied to the tooth surface to cover or seal the natural grooves and fissures of molars, making it difficult for food to accumulate and making brushing these teeth easier.

Fissure sealants thus aid in preventing tooth decay and, as a result, avoiding extensive fillings in the future.

Who Needs Dental Sealants?

Children and teenagers are candidates for sealants due to the likelihood of decay developing in the depressions and grooves of their molars and premolars. There are also tooth sealants for adults and these are for adults who do not have decay or dental fillings in their molars can also apply sealants.

Sealants should be applied to children’s permanent molars and premolars as soon as they emerge. Sealants can thus protect the teeth during the cavity-prone years of ages 6 to 14.

Dental sealants may also be good for baby teeth in some cases, such as when a child’s baby teeth have deep grooves and depressions.

What Is The Age Limit For Sealants?

Sealants have no age limit, but the dentist at Knoxville Dental Associates considers the  following as the primary target groups:

  • Baby/milk molars in children aged 3-4 years
  • First and second permanent molars in children aged six and up
  • Adults who have extremely deep stained molar fissures
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