As your child’s permanent molars and premolars emerge, it can be rather common for the biting surfaces of these teeth to have hard-to-clean pits and fissures. While these deeply textured areas served our ancient ancestors well for chewing and grinding tough foods, they can also become traps for residual food particles and plaque.
If residual food particles and plaque become trapped in these pits and fissures, they can easily create tooth decay. Large inlay or onlay fillings are often needed to repair these cavities. Later on in life, these fillings could cause additional complications.
Should our Chicago Osteopathic Hospital Dental Clinic PC dentists notice trouble spots in these deep pits and fissures, we might recommend protecting the biting surface with dental sealants.
Dental sealants in Chicago, Illinois, are made of a resin material that your dentist carefully paints onto the biting surfaces of your child’s back teeth. A special ultraviolet light is used to harden the resin. When plaque and food particles get stuck in the deep pits and contours, the resin effectively keeps bacteria away from the enamel.
In most cases, we can apply the dental sealants after your child’s routine dental checkup. The resin material is very durable and it should protect the biting surfaces of your child’s molars and premolars for several years.
If you have any questions or if you are interested in having your child’s back teeth protected by dental sealants, please call Chicago Osteopathic Hospital Dental Clinic PC at 773-947-4665 to schedule an appointment with one of our experienced dentists.