Are Dental Sealants Worth The Money?

Dental sealants are capable of preventing cavities in children and adults for years but are they worth the cost and any potential risks that have been spoken about? Researching for answers on this subject you may decide to contact the pediatric dentist near you to understand why dental sealants near you are the best way to prevent kids from developing cavities when brushing the teeth is just as important. However, you will be surprised when informed that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recently touted the benefits of this relatively simple and inexpensive procedure among childrens dentist Houston.

Dental sealants are a thin coating painted on the teeth as protection against cavities. The procedure is painless and can cost about $ 30-$ 60 per tooth despite some insurance discount plans reducing the cost by some margin.

Less than 50 percent of children have dental sealants on their teeth leading dental hygienists to believe it is still gaining traction. Dental sealants are considered safe and effective as they have been for over four decades.

What Does the Research Reveal?

The research conducted by the CDC reveals that 80 percent of cavities can be prevented by dental sealants during the initial two years after the application. The defense is available against 50 percent of the cavities for two years and the sealants applied can be retained in the mouth for around nine years.

Just about 43 percent of children in the age group of 6 to 11 have dental sealants on their teeth. The likelihood of children from low-income households having dental sealants is 20 percent unlikely when compared to children from upper-income households. School-age children without dental sealants are three times likely to have more cavities in their mouths than children with sealants.

The CDC also reported that approximately $ 300 million in dental treatment costs could be saved if sealants were applied in school-based programs for nearly 7 million children from low-income households. Dental sealants are considered as the most conservative and non-invasive treatment in dentistry.

Long-Term Benefits of Dental Sealants

When you take your child to the dentist to get dental sealants treatment near you for reasons of convenience you must ensure the technique for the application is perfect. Children are perhaps the most difficult patients to handle even for the pediatric dentist in Houston, TX. It has often been reported that dental sealants are not as effective as claimed but the reason for the failure of dental sealants lies elsewhere especially when children are taken to general dentists that are not adequately experienced to manage the needs of pediatric dentistry. Rather than doubting the capability of dental sealants to protect the teeth of the child. parents must consider visiting dental sealants in Houston, TX, for the application where they will find they are dealing with an experienced pediatric dentist Houston, TX.

Dental sealants can also be applied to baby or primary teeth but the child must be cooperative enough to tolerate this painless procedure which requires them to hold their mouth open without moving for a few minutes. Generally, the treatment on younger teeth is only provided for children with an increased risk of tooth decay. Parents must discuss when to seal the child’s teeth from the dental team at the pediatric dentist’s office.

Adults and senior citizens can also benefit from dental sealants because they are exposed to the risks of tooth decay with age. However, people with restorations or implants will not benefit from sealants. They are however safe and effective despite the controversy about them from environmental activists about synthetic estrogens such as BPA contaminating them. However, blood system levels of BPA have not been detected in clinical studies and additional research is suggested because the peak BPA levels from saliva from the exposure to the sealants return to baseline within 24 hours despite being at their highest during the first three hours.

Parents must understand that they should not be concerned about the BPA levels but should pay attention that treating tooth decay is more expensive than considering a concern from activists that still needs to be studied. They should rather focus on the dental health of their children and attempt to prevent the development of cavities in their mouths.