Dental cavities and tooth decay don’t just affect adults. More and more children are becoming at risk from the threat of tooth decay because of the high levels of sugar they are eating and the developing nature of their teeth. Tooth decay now affects nearly a fifth of two to four year olds and more than half of eight year olds in the UK.
There is something that parents can do to protect the health of their kids’ teeth. As well as making sure they are not eating too many sugary foods. They can also use dental sealants to offer further protection to their teeth. Sealants are plastic coatings applied to the flat surfaces of the back teeth. They form a protective barrier so that bacteria cannot gather in the pits of their molars and cause decay on the chewing surfaces.
Dental sealants are perfectly safe and in some cases can even stop tooth decay that has already started. Children should ideally have sealants applied when their back molars begin to erupt, usually around the age of six. If sealants were routinely applied at this age the cases of tooth decay among six to ten year olds would plummet according to some dentists. Sealants can then be reapplied to the permanent molars that appear at around the age of twelve.
Sealants obviously do not replace the need for effective tooth cleaning with brushing and flossing but they can offer an extra degree of protection to the teeth. Leeds dentists are able to fit sealants to your children’s teeth so that they develop correctly and limit the potential for further dental problems in the future. Make an appointment to find out more.
Tags: dental cavities, dental sealants
