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4 Reasons You Shouldn’t Get Dental Sealants for Your Children

1. Sealants are expensive and do not last a lifetime as a dentist recommends.

Dental sealants are expensive and do not last a lifetime, as a dentist recommends. Sealant cost ranges from $20-150 and must be replaced every 3-7 years. They only work on molars, which are one of the last teeth to show signs of decay. Over time, the sealant may wane and when it does, it is probably too late to fix your child’s teeth.

2. Sealants are hard to keep clean

Sealants are harder to keep clean than most people realize. The dentist’s website recommends peeling them off in the morning and night, and it only takes a few seconds to remove them. But if you are not careful or follow the directions or wear the sealant down, it can be a pain to get off. Parents often have trouble getting off the thing from their child’s mouth, which makes cleaning it difficult.

3. Sealants are uncomfortable and have little benefit.

Parents often find sealants uncomfortable for their children. They often tell the dentist that it is too hard to swallow. This is a sign that the sealant is too high on the tooth, where there is no gum tissue or jawbone to protect it from constant chewing. If you think your child is going to be chewing constantly with a sealant, you are wrong. Children (and adults) chew all day long, except during sleep and school. The only way to keep children from damaging their teeth is by teaching them good chewing skills.

4. Sealants do little to protect your child’s teeth

Dentists do not tell you this, but the sealant is a temporary fix. It will probably last the life of your child–maybe a few years, depending on how much they wear it down–and then it needs to be topped up every 3-7 years.

But sealants do little to protect a child’s teeth. They do not prevent cavities; they just stop your child from getting more cavities in the spots where you have put them. If your child is eating a lot of sugary foods, the surrounding teeth will still decay and need treatment. If your child is not eating a lot of sugary foods, a sealant probably will not make much difference to their oral health.

So why do dentists recommend sealants? If they did not, they would not be making so much money with them, right? Well, most dentists must follow the ADA guidelines that say that all kids should have them, so I can see where they get their money. But you should not let this money motivation override your own health.