Not sure about sealants

[rumi]

dd had 10 cavities at her first check-up at age 4. They were all filled and she has had no new cavities since then. She now has good habits: brushing twice a day and "natural brushing" - i.e. eating carrots or apples and rinsing with water - after sweets. She flosses and cleans her tongue as well.

At her recent check up they noted that her 6 year molars had all come in and said that we should put sealants on them.

I understand the "might as well" aspect to this, and it won't cost me anything, but I wonder if it is necessary? And if it is not necessary, should we do it?

I have been reading about the BPA in the sealants (NY Times, ) and I think probably there would not be more BPA coming out of the sealants than what we are already getting from packaged foods and bottled beverages (though we are trying to eliminate those).

Even so - I am sure that we are gradually consuming whatever is in the sealant. We might not know all of the risks. At the same time we would take those risks if we actually had a cavity and then had to fill it.

So I am unsure between:

First do no harm
(If it aint broke dont fix it)

and

Prevention is better than cure.

[mama1803]

Our dentist also suggested sealants for our ds when his molars errupted. Ultimately we decided against them.

We were concerned about the BPA, but I was also concerned when I read several reports of children having allergic reactions to their sealants. My ds already has some food and environmental allergies and we didn't want to risk more.

My dh had loads of cavities as a kid and the sealants didn't help at all--he continued to get cavities even after his teeth were sealed. Ds hasn't had any cavities thus far, so we decided "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

Good luck with your decision.