Dental Sealants Research Paper

Words: 787
Pages: 4

It’s no denying it that children have a high caries rate. Parents hand their child a toothbrush and expect them to just start to brush their teeth; all of them, every crevice, for two minutes. Some adults can’t even do that. There are a lot of people out there that don’t know the proper way to brush their teeth and therefore aren’t teaching or showing their kids the proper way. I know I was never taught as a kid or even showed as an adult when I went to the dentist. That’s why I feel so strongly towards dental sealants, to help protect the teeth from cavities. Because the caries rate is so high in children a dentist came up with the idea to put a thin plastic covering over the teeth to protect them from cavities. Cavities form when there …show more content…
“Step 1-cleaning the tooth. The dentist must first clean the surface of the tooth; otherwise the sealant will not bond to it properly. The dentist will place a small brush in their dental drill. As the drill spins the brush, they’ll use it to scrub the tooth’s surface and clean out its grooves. Step 2-Conditioning the tooth’s surface. After cleaning the tooth, the dentist will spread “etching” gel over that area where the dental sealant will be placed. Once they get it positioned properly, they’ll allow the gel to sit for somewhere between 20 and 60 seconds and the wash it off. Step 3-Evaluation of the Etching Step. After washing the etching gel off, and using their air gun to blow the tooth dry, the dentist will evaluate their work. Step 4- Applying the sealant. While the tooth is still dry, the dentist will apply the sealant into the grooves of the tooth. Step 5- Curing the sealant. Once the dentist has the liquid sealant positioned properly, they’ll set it using a curing light. Step 6- Evaluating the sealant. The dentist will evaluate their work and check to see that all of the grooves have been filled in sufficiently. Once the sealant is cured, it’s fully hardened and ready to be used. (Animated-Teeth.com, 2016)” Many people worry though those dental sealants aren’t safe because they are made with plastic. But that is not the case; they do more good than harm. “The ADA Science Institute staff tested the BPA release