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Fissure Sealants
Fissures are grooves found in the enamel of teeth.
However, fissures are most commonly found in the pre-molar and molar teeth. In some teeth, these grooves can be very narrow and deep and can lead to a lot of food getting stuck on the biting surface of the tooth.
Because of this fact, it has become common day practice to fissure seal all molar adult teeth of children in order to prevent tooth decay. With today’s high sugar and acid diet, it is important to protect the molar teeth against such attack.
Fissure Sealants are generally plastic resin coatings that are placed in the grooves and act as a physical barrier to the attack of food. Sometimes done with Glass Ionomer Cements, all sealants used in Healthy Smile Dental are fluoride releasing as well. This means that the teeth are not only physically protected from bacteria and plaque acids, but are also strengthened by the fluoride being released.
As good as fissure sealants are, they are not hard like the enamel and can suffer general wear and tear. Should part of the seal break or chip off, it can be easily replaced with more sealant material. The general life span of a sealant ranges from 1 to 3 years.
