Protecting your child's oral health is just one part of being a parent. Encouraging your child to brush their teeth well twice a day and taking them to the family dentist on a regular basis are some ways to do this. However, you can also take steps to give them a boost to their oral health. Read on to learn more about this process.

What Dental Sealants Are

The way that your child's dental health can be protected (with the help of a dentist) is by getting them dental sealants.

Dental sealants are made out of resin composite. This is actually the same material that dental fillings are made out of, but instead of drilling into the tooth, the resin simply covers the biting and chewing surface of the tooth.

What They Do

By placing this sealant over the teeth, it helps to protect them from potential wear and tear as well as cavities. Bacteria can't easily break through resin, as it's not an organic substance that can be chewed away by bacteria like dental enamel can. While dental sealants can eventually be broken down by enough chewing and biting, it helps to protect the teeth from that same wear and tear from happening directly to them.So in a sense, dental sealants act like a second layer of enamel for your child's teeth.

Risks and Benefits

There are no significant risks to getting dental sealants. The procedure doesn't induce pain, and doesn't require or call for sedative or numbing to be performed. The resin is effectively just painted onto the surface of the tooth, and then dried with a bright light device that hardens the resin instantly.

When dental sealants are applied to all teeth, it can significantly reduce the risk of your child developing cavities. While it can't help with things like gum health, cavities are a big problem for most children and going through the process of having a tooth drilled can make a child very nervous. As a parent, it's best to do everything that you can to prevent that from happening.

Dental sealants can't take the place of regular dental hygiene and visits to the dentist, but when combined with those two efforts, it can have dramatic effects protecting your child's teeth from cavities. If your child's adult teeth are starting to come in and you want to protect them, there's no better time to ask your family dentist about dental sealants.