Sealing or other alternatives for deep pockets

[~Megan~]

dd, like dh, has deep molars. They are really hard to clean. dh said he had sealants done as a child.

How safe are sealants?

Are there other alternatives to using sealants?

[twilight girl]

I don't know about alternatives. I mean you can look at the tread about strategies to deal with ECC, and many of the xylitol products would probably be good. I'm on my way to the States for vacation, and plan to stock up on powdered xylitol and xylitol gum and candies for DD and the baby. I figure DD would benefit from chewing the xylitol gum which would squish down into those deep fissures.

In the meantime, I'd rather her not have a mouth full of cavities that have to be drilled and filled, so we are opting for sealants. First and foremost because they are completely painless to put on. If we wait for cavities to appear, it won't be so painless.

[AJP]

I've let them seal my older son's adult molars as they've come in. I do have concerns about the plastic-ness of them, but his teeth are at risk because of our dental history and he also has deep grooves. The non-mercury, composite fillings are also a type of plastic, so I figured a little bit of plastic now or a whole filling of it later. Some types of sealant have BPA (one of the icky plastic chemicals), and some don't, you can ask which kind your dentist uses.

[~Megan~]

bumping this up as dd has a dental appoinment and I think this will come up again.

[Mona]

i wish there were more responses to this as well.....

[japonica]

I'm just bumping this as well.

My daughter (almost 7) is supposed to have sealants put on her molars. Hers are deeply grooved and fissured, like mine. I ended up with a mouthful of amalgam in my teens because of the decay in the grooves and I'm wondering what is the lesser of two evils...the sealants on her molars now or composite fillings down the road. Yes, I understand that prevention and good diet and brushing habits will help, but with teeth this grooved, I think it only goes so far.

[Chloebelle]

Sealants are definitely better than cavities/fillings IMO. I just had 2 sealants put on my 5 year old. A few years ago, she had a filling, and it was horrible! I would much rather have a sealant than risk more fillings if the teeth are vulnerable. The two teeth that were sealed had deep grooves, and what looked like a few holes. I gave her xylitol and cell salts to help heal the teeth, as I suspected they were cavities. I'm assuming that they had been healed, but the holes were still there. 

I was a very happy mama to have walked out of there with 2 sealants instead of 2 cavities, and would do it again!