FISSURE SEALANTS

What are fissure sealants?

This is a dental treatment which consists of applying a white, plastic material to the biting surface of one or more back teeth.

What is the purpose of this treatment?

The intended purpose of this treatment is to prevent dental caries (cavities) or other forms of tooth decay.

What are fissures?

 The biting surfaces of the back teeth are not smooth and flat. There are the sharp cusps which help us chew our food. The cusps meet in the centre of the teeth in the form of criss-crossing valleys. These valleys are known as the pits and fissures of the teeth.

Why do I need fissure sealants?

Fissures form an area that easily attracts debris as well as well as sugar from ingested food and drink. However because of the shape of the fissure it allows limited for the bristles of the tooth brush and thus essentially becomes a non cleansable area. This is because the bristles of the tooth brush are too wide to reach the bottom of the fissure. Thus there is no way to cleanse the debris or the sugar which eventually will lead to tooth decay.

The sealant when placed inside the fissure seals the fissure from ingress of sugar and debris. The sealant contains fluoride. It also makes the area more accessible to cleaning thus allowing food and debris to be easily removed. All these factors act together to prevent decay.

What is the procedure?

·         The tooth is polished using an electric tooth brush.

·         Cotton rolls are placed on either side of the tooth. This is done to keep the tooth dry as the sealant does not adhere well to the tooth in the presence of moisture.

·         A blue/green gel is applied to the biting surface. This cleans the surface of the tooth as well as roughens the surface so that the sealant can adhere well to the tooth.

·         The gel is applied for a few seconds after which it is washed off and then the tooth is dried thoroughly with a stream of air.

·         Immediately the sealant is flowed into the pits and fissures.

·         A blue light is shone onto the sealant for 30 seconds which causes the sealant to harden up. This completes the application of the fissure sealant.