Berkeley Parents Network: Tooth Sealants

Berkeley Parents Network

Tooth Sealants

Berkeley Parents Network > Advice > Advice about Health > Tooth Sealants

Dental sealants on baby teeth?
Should I put sealant on 8-year-old's teeth?
Dentist wants to put sealant on 4-year-old's teeth
More advice about teeth

Dental sealants on baby teeth?

Nov 2002

Our dentist recommended that we have dental sealants put on our children's teeth (ages 6 and 8). I have heard of sealants put on permanent teeth, but never on baby teeth. Is this a common practice? How do most parents handle this? Our insurance will only pay for sealants on permanent teeth. And I'm not sure of the safety of the substances used in sealants. Thank-you. Anon

We have been considering the same issue. Our pediatric dentist has pushed sealants somewhat aggressively. After speaking with my regular dentist whom I trust and have had a very satisfactory relationship for over 10 years, I decided that for my two sons (7 & 10) we will not seal the deciduous teeth. It just doesn't make sense unlee your child has some predisposition to cavities (Some people do.).

The other consideration my dentist mentioned is that if the sealant is not done extremely well, they can actually lead to very serious cavities under the seal. These are bad because they are much harder to detect. The dentist uses touch as much as sight to detect the cavities. Our younger son has some developmental problems and has to be monitored closely to ensure that he adequately flosses and brushes. We may have his permanent teath sealed because he is at such risk for cavities. We are not going to do this for the 10 year old. Anon

I don't know all the pros and cons, but I do know that my stepdaughter had sealant applied to her teeth when she was ten, I believe. It turned out that sealant had been applied to a tooth where there was existing decay, and just as one of the other posters suggested, having the decay ''sealed on'' caused a big problem. She ended up having to have a root canal and crown at this very young age. Having seen this, I would not do sealants for my son. Fran

Should I put sealant on 8-year-old's teeth?

Jan 1999

Can anyone give me some advice on the wisdom of getting sealants put on an 8 year old's teeth? I understand that they protect the front of the teeth only from cavities, and cavities can still develop on the sides. Our dental plan covers 75% of the cost (my dentist is $168), until the child is 9. After that it's not covered as preventive. We have an appt. this Sat to have them done, and I wanted to get some ideas from other parents. Mari

Even though my dentist said it was rather unusual for adults to do so, I had all of my "virgin" teeth sealed in the past few years and have felt very glad about it. From what I could understand, it is just a matter of time before the natural grooves in a tooth begin to harbor decay, no matter how good your oral hygiene is: the bottom of the groove is just too skinny for a tooth-brush bristle to fit in there. I couldn't tell you about potental health problems from leaching chemicals--your post is the first I've heard about that. So far, I'm fit as a fiddle. My dentist is big on replacing amalgam fillings to get rid of the mercury (I've declined so far bacause of what I've read about drilling out the amalgam actually exposing a person to more mercury than leaving them intact), but mentioned no qualms about toxins from the sealants. I've been looking forward to having my daughter's teeth sealed once she's old enough to keep her mouth open long enough (she just turned two). Each tooth takes about ten minutes to seal. I don't understand putting sealant on a tooth that is already decayed, though, as your post suggests--I would think that would just trap the decay under the sealant, leading to further decay and potential nerve damage. I have a couple of "white" I guess resin fillings, as well as a number of old amalgam ones. Supposedly the white fillings don't last as long, but mine are holding up very well--seven years and counting. I have a porcelain semi-crown. It was quite a lot of hoopla getting it made and installed (required an impression and sending it off to a lab and a couple of return visits to get it fitted in there right, and then it didn't feel right for another six months)--I don't picture that for a three-year-old, and I sure can't imagine an insurance company paying for it--porcelean costs the same as gold--about $1,000 per tooth (I don't picture spending that for a deciduous tooth). Hope this helps.

I just wanted to mention a bad experience I had when I asked a dentist to apply sealants to my teeth. The reason I wanted to get sealants was so that my teeth wouldn't get any more spots where the enamel is worn off (high risk for cavities) than they already had. Unfortunately my dentist, without telling me what he was doing, started drilling my teeth -- to make grooves in the enamel so that the sealant would stick better to my teeth! New grooves in the teeth were exactly what I wanted to prevent, and here he was creating them. I didn't particularly care if the sealant would have fallen off sooner than it would have without the grooves; I just wanted to delay the onset of grooves in the first place. The thing is, sealant always wears off after a few years anyway, maybe 5 years if they add the grooves, maybe a year if they don't add them (I don't know the exact figures). So now that I do have grooves in my teeth, I am stuck with either replacing the sealants for the rest of my life, to protect these drilled out grooves from turning into cavities when the sealant wears off, or letting them be exposed and turning into cavities. So I guess the moral is: If you get sealants, make sure you find out from your dentist, beforehand, what their policy is on drilling new grooves into your teeth.

To the person who wanted advice on Tooth Sealants... I had tooth sealants put in well over 20 years ago (I'm 31 now) on my back teeth, the biting surface. I don't recall the process or the type of sealant used back then, and don't know the dangers, but you might like to know I only have one cavity (which on the biting surface, so it wasn't covered by the sealant anyway.) Whenever I go to my dentist every six months, he tells me the sealants are still doing fine, after 20 years. Again, I'm not sure if my "Tooth Sealants" from 20 years ago are the same as today's, but mine are holding up fine.

My dentist in Canada swore by them, and applied them to my teeth after I developed my first cavity at age 28, to protect the rest of my teeth. Several years later, I haven't developed any other cavities. However, that may be due more to good luck than the sealants (I take good but not great care of my teeth, so it probably is genetic!). Barbara

Just to let folks know, the plastic used in tooth sealants MAY be an endocrine disruptor--the kind of thing that's leading to weird crocodiles and decreased sperm counts. Pregnant women should probably not have their teeth sealed, since in utero exposure appears to be the problem. We're trying to decide whether to have it done for our son, weighing the possible risks of the sealants against the risk of cavities... Deborah

A few days ago, someone posted some information about the effects of tooth sealants on teh endocrine system (abnormalities in alligators and low sperm count). Unfortunately, I deleted the bulletin in was listed in so I don't have the name of the person who posted it. I'd like to know the source of this information. I've searched the internet and have been unsuccessful. I would appreciate it if the person who posted the message could let me know! Bonnie

I'm the person who posted the message about tooth sealants, and I have some more information. Bisphenol A is the endocrine disruptor in tooth sealants, but I think there may be some sealants w/o it (trying to find out). Two useful websites: www.wwfcanada.org/reducerisk World Wildlife Fund Canada's how to reduce your risk from endocrine disruptors www.tmc.tulane.edu/ecme/eehome General info on environmental estrogens, but I didn't see anything there about tooth sealants Deborah

I recently read an article about tooth sealants on Mothers and Others web page. If anyone is interested in reading it here is the link: http://www.mothers.org/mothers/greenguide/features.html My oldest daughter does have tooth sealants and I do personally regret it. I had no knowledge of any reasons not to do it and went with the dentists recommendations without doing any research. My daughter is one of those children who started puberty premutarely (at 8 years old!) and it is and has been very difficult for her, since she really is still a child. We have made an effort to limit her exposure to hormones and hormone like chemicals since then but unfortunately we can't undo the changes her body has already gone through and while I am sure there were numerous other exposures besides the sealants I feel badly about my decision to add on one more. Carolyn

I'm concerned that I may have made people overly worried about tooth sealants, for example the mom who was worried that her daughter's tooth sealants might have contributed to early puberty. So I checked with my mom, Shanna Swan, an epidemiologist who does research on endocrine disruptors (though not tooth sealants in particular). And she had this to say.

The evidence we have indicates that endocrine disruption occurs primarily in utero. For example, studies that looked at the effect of PCB exposure (primarily from fish in the Great Lakes) find extent of developmental delay correlated with levels of PCBs in the mother's blood when she is pregnant but not in her breast milk.(and quite a few studies have looked at these two routes of exposure). On the other hand, no one has studied tooth sealants and premature puberty, so of course we can't rule it out. Let's say I would consider it very unlikely.

Also, the exposure to the bad chemicals in the sealants is highest at the time they're applied and presumably also if they were to be removed). Once they're in there, very low levels would "leak" into the body. Based on the limited reading I've done, I think people who have them should not have them removed, pregnant women should definitely not have them applied or removed, and I'm still not sure about having my son get them. Probably he's getting lots more exposure from other sources!

Hope this clarifies. Deborah

Dentist wants to put sealant on 4-year-old's teeth

June 1998

Our dentist (whom I'm not thrilled with) has suggested after the last cleaning of my 4 year old son's teeth, that they should put on sealants to prevent cavities. Is there any collective experience on this? How necessary is it? Maybe it is commonplace, but I just don't know. Martha

Regarding sealants for 4 year olds, we were advised by our dentist to have them put on my son's molars at about 5-6 years of age because he has very deep recesses in his molars. We did, and he has only had one cavity (he's 9 now). The same dentist has not recommended them for my daughter, who is now six, because her molars aren't as deep and cavity prone. We like and trust our dentist, and think that the sealants help. It does require the child to sit still for some amount of time, and it wasn't easy for my son, but he got through it and it doesn't hurt. And its much better than filling a cavity! Helen

re: sealents on teeth...My kids who are now in their 20's had sealents. Later we learned that some people worry that the plastic used off-gasses things that are bad. I can't remember details at my advanced age but urge any parents who are considering this to find out. Margy

My understanding of sealants on teeth is it means virtually no cavities for the child. I've had two children go through the sealant process and, while not 100% effective (it can and does wear off and needs to be re-applied periodically), it certainly seems to have helped. Becky

I asked my father, a general dentist for 40+ years, about the use of sealants in a 4 year old. He said that sealants are very effective but should not be put in until the child's 6 year molars come in. Prior to that, tooth decay can be combatted with diligent dental hygiene. This is more than just handing your child a toothbrush and letting them brush their own teeth. He recommends that the parent brush and floss the child's teeth because children at that age do not yet have the dexterity to properly brush their back molars. As children, my siblings and I had our teeth brushed every night by one of my parents until we reached the age of 10. The result has been that none of us has had a single cavity, and we are all over 30. Sharon

Our dentist put sealant plastic on our kids permanent molars. The biting surface is all that gets covered. The idea is to fill in the crevaces where no toothbrush is sharp enough to reach. This is extremely effective at preventing cavities in these locations. Our dentist sees no reason to do this for baby teeth,( perhaps because getting a cavity drilled is such a strong lesson in the need for good oral hygene.) Roger

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