Warning about using dental sealants

[JaneS]

Especially in children

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...AGIOC13FM1.DTL

[bigcrunchie]

I'm glad to see bisphenol A getting more attention. My DS is 19 months and about to get his first (composite) filling and a sealant. I hate doing the sealant but the torture of dealing w/ decay is not fun at all. We have cared for his teeth carefully since they came in, he drinks no juice, eats no crackers and we eat a healthy diet. He's still got decay

From what I've read (on several alternative kids teeth yahoo groups I belong to), if the dentist wipes the surface off of the sealant as soon as it dries, a large percentage of the bisphenol A can be taken care of. Just some slight consolation to those of us who feel our kids need sealants because of ECC issues.

Thanks for posting the article.

[Ruthla]

Ack!!! My kids just had sealants put on their molars this past August!

OK, so it sounds like the danger of the plastic is when it's first put in, and it's not a constant exposure problem like amalgram fillings?

[JaneS]

Chris,

Hmmm... very interesting b/c my holistic dentist wiped my composite fillings after placing them too. I never knew about that. For me, I had to go with composite to replace my metal fillings as porcelain would have cost us over $12,000.

But it is a big concern of mine that I just replaced one problem for another.

Cavities are as much about what you do eat to support the vitamin and mineral needs of the body (bone broths, cod liver oil and high vitamin butter) as what you don't eat (processed foods, white flour and sugar). Two books I have been posting about lately that discuss this in depth are "Nourishing Traditions" and "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration".

[circlemama]

It is definitely something to weigh. However, I have had sealants placed and had them placed on my dd. We are both VERY PRONE to decay. My extensive research, and advice from a holistic dentist were to go forth. The
only danger is for 3 hours after placement.

[JaneS]

Originally Posted by circlemama

It is definitely something to weigh. However, I have had sealants placed and had them placed on my dd. We are both VERY PRONE to decay. My extensive research, and advice from a holistic dentist were to go forth. The
only danger is for 3 hours after placement.

They don't wear away? Or release any vapours at all? I just find that hard to believe. Sorry how that sounds, I'm not trying to be snarky... do you have any links or references about this?

[circlemama]

I received the information from a holistic dentist that is on an kids dental health yahoo group, that I belong to. There is alot of differing information about sealants. In my case, it's a no win situation, use sealants or eventually have the tooth filled with composite. It takes alot less sealant to seal a tooth than composite material to fill a tooth. Obviously, sealants shouldn't be placed on teeth that are perfectly healthy and not in a compromising situation of being prone to decay. I am not going to get in a heated debate about this subject. Everyone must make the best decision for their own particular situation.

[JaneS]

I don't want to debate either, I never do... just looking for more info!

[Sherra]

Obviously, sealants shouldn't be placed on teeth that are perfectly healthy and not in a compromising situation of being prone to decay.

I have always heard it argued that you do not want to use sealants if the tooth has any decay even if it's fixed and this is why you put it on new teeth that have not shown any decay. This was the premise I was taught anyway, doesn't mean it's right of course. Not that I'm arguing with you but I'm trying to make sense of it all. I had sealants and still got cavities so I'm a bit ambivalent on this but still open on the subject if it isn't coming from my dentist lol.

Today there was an interesting article on the mothering website and it dealt with resins and hormonal changes I think:

http://www.mothering.com/sections/ex...r-archive.html

And again, although parabens have not been found to influence the development of this condition, it’s good as a general rule to avoid any kind of hormone-disrupting chemicals no matter what your current health condition is.In addition to parabens, here are a few to look out for:

*Alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs), which are found in shampoos and conditioners

*Bisphenol-A (BPA), which is found in polycarbonate water bottles (identifiable by their #7 recycling code), resins that line food cans and dental sealants

*Phthalates, which are widely used in cosmetics (and masked on ingredient lists by the umbrella term “fragrance”), soft vinyl toys, flooring and medical tubing

I have been looking for any info not biased from dentists concerning sealants. If anyone has any links let me know. Cancer and breastcancer run in my family, so I tend to be wary of things that tamper with hormones and disrupt them. The thought of whether the poison stays or not (if that is the case) coming down to how well something is wiped after they are done being installed is sorta scary to me given the risk of cancer in my family .


Sherra

[circlemama]

I didn't have sealants placed on teeth w/ decay. I meant that most of my teeth have had decay, and been filled. With my dental history, it's somewhat a matter of time before I would get decay in these (2) teeth. I opted for sealants. The same goes for my daughter. I feel that in certain situation where teeth are prone to decay, the danger of sealant is less than the danger of a composite resin. My DH is 36 and has never had a cavity, obviously he shouldn't get sealants. Me, on the other hand...I've spent alot of time (and money) in the dentist's chair!

[moss]

bumping

are there any safer alternatives to sealants?

i had multiple cavities when i was a kid, and it looks like ds has inherited my teeth. he's scheduled for sealants and 3 fillings in june

[Artisan]

I had sealants placed on my teeth as a child -- maybe 8 years old or so. Twenty years later, I had my first cavity, which developed UNDER the sealant. I asked my dentist why I had a cavity, and she said that the sealants degrade over time, and that minute cracks allow bacteria to get underneath the sealant and eat away at the tooth. And because it's underneath the sealant, no amount of cleaning will remove the bacteria.

[aniT]

Originally Posted by Artisan

I had sealants placed on my teeth as a child -- maybe 8 years old or so. Twenty years later, I had my first cavity, which developed UNDER the sealant. I asked my dentist why I had a cavity, and she said that the sealants degrade over time, and that minute cracks allow bacteria to get underneath the sealant and eat away at the tooth. And because it's underneath the sealant, no amount of cleaning will remove the bacteria.

We just got back from the dentist and he is recommending my daughter get sealants. He also said they last about 8 years.

When I asked what type of plastic they were made of (the hygienist told me they were plastic) he had no idea what I was talking about at first. When I told him he said that the sealants more closely resemble fiberglass than plastic and it was Poly Micro M something (I wish they would have written that down. : ) Anyway so now I need to decide if I want her to have sealants or not. I never had them, my older daughter never had them and I am just not sure about using them on my daughter.

OTH the dentist did know about hormone disrupter's because when I asked for the "white" fillings as opposed to the alagram ones I was told that he didn't like to use those because they have hormone disrupter's on them. But I will start another thread on that.

[indie]

Originally Posted by Artisan

I had sealants placed on my teeth as a child -- maybe 8 years old or so. Twenty years later, I had my first cavity, which developed UNDER the sealant. I asked my dentist why I had a cavity, and she said that the sealants degrade over time, and that minute cracks allow bacteria to get underneath the sealant and eat away at the tooth. And because it's underneath the sealant, no amount of cleaning will remove the bacteria.

This happened to me except it was only two years after I got the sealant. I'm definately not a fan of sealants.

[sohj]

Originally Posted by moss

bumping

are there any safer alternatives to sealants?

i had multiple cavities when i was a kid, and it looks like ds has inherited my teeth. he's scheduled for sealants and 3 fillings in june

Good dental practices like brushing and flossing, eat a good diet and make sure the diet is rich in selenium, calcium, magnesium and silica. Teas made from milky oat tops or oat straw and horsetail are extremely rich in silica (and other things) and make delicious iced tea that can just be left in fridge and drunk as people want.

[Doodlebugsmom]

Yikes! I'm glad to see this thread. I think I'll decline sealants for my children if they're ever offered.

[Astrid]

:
My 7 year old was offered dental sealants yesterday and I'm so glad I read this!

[moss]

Originally Posted by sohj

Good dental practices like brushing and flossing, eat a good diet and make sure the diet is rich in selenium, calcium, magnesium and silica. Teas made from milky oat tops or oat straw and horsetail are extremely rich in silica (and other things) and make delicious iced tea that can just be left in fridge and drunk as people want.

thx, sohj. he got the fillings, but we decided not to go for sealants this time. he's over a lot of his oral defensive issues (thank heaven for gfcf!!), and will let me floss and brush to my heart's content these days. i picked up some horsetail and i've been making some lovely sun tea that ds refuses to even try. oh well, you win some and ya lose some.

[Strong Mama]

I had sealants placed on my teeth as a child -- maybe 8 years old or so. Twenty years later, I had my first cavity, which developed UNDER the sealant. I asked my dentist why I had a cavity, and she said that the sealants degrade over time, and that minute cracks allow bacteria to get underneath the sealant and eat away at the tooth. And because it's underneath the sealant, no amount of cleaning will remove the bacteria.

This T|OTALLY happened to me. I had sealants on almost all my teeth at the age of 8. Now at 31 I have dentures. ACK!

[Mamaonalu]

I wont do sealants for my son

So here was my experiance with sealants:
I never had a single cavity as a child, but when i turned 9, it was time for me to get braces on. Before I got them on, my parents took me into the dentist to get sealants put on, because the dentist said it would be hard for him to clean my teeth when the braces were on, so just to be safe, get sealants. So we did. I went to my 6mo visits as usual, but he didn't take any xrays (not sure why, maybe the metal? who knows). three years later I get my braces off (my entire jaw was misaligned, so it took awhile to fix), and I get my xrays done. 12 cavities on six of my molars. yikes.
ANYWAY, that dentist filled the cavities, just said I was a bad brusher, and generally I was traumatized by him (long story, no need to go into it). I convinced my parents to switched dentists, and they agreed that our dentist was a little sketchy. I went to the new dentist 6 months later, who took an xray and gasped. My old dentist hadn't fully cleaned out the cavities he filled, and so they were rotted to the core (that's 6 root canals, for the record). Then, she found that where he put the sealants on the remaining teeth, he hadn't fully cleaned my teeth before putting the sealants on, and THEY rotted underneath the sealants!
I'm 23 years old now. I took a two year break from seeing the dentist every month for nearly 5 years to get all these cavities filled. 9 root canals and who knows how many cavities later, I'm terrified for my DS. I brush twice a day (always did), make sure he does too, and we try not to eat much sugar. If you do choose to get sealants, make sure you TRUST your dentist, and that you're satisfied with work they've done for you in the past.
YIKES huh? :