Dental question - covering for back teeth

[PopsP]

My son's (7) dentist has reccommended he has some sort of covering put on the surface of his back teeth. It seems his teeth are extra bumpy on top and its likely that at his age he might not brush them thoroughly enough. This covering - I'm sorry but I can't remember what the dentist called it - will even out the surface.
I have never heard of this form of treatment before and I'm not sure whether to go ahead with it or not. Do any of you have any experience of it ?

Yes, all my 4 children have had it done (ages 9yrs-16yrs). It is called fissure sealing. Jasper will be able to tell you more about it. It prevents decay and is done when the back teeth have fully erupted. It is quick and painless.

My dd recently had her back teeth done too; like you say, they're extra bumpy and the dentist recommended it. Also have a friend (now late 30's) who had it done as a child on all his molars and (as a result?) has no fillings at all.

Does this covering wear off, eventually? What's it made out of? Silica, plastic, what?? How long does it take to apply? why isn't it offered to adults? Tell us more!

I read about these on a US internet site and then took my son (then 7) to see the dentist and before I could ask her about it she independently recommended that he have these sealants. If its the same thing, they are sealants on the back teeth made of a composite material and some types release fluoride over time. According to the mum who posted on this website who is a dentist "Sealants are very effective preventive measures and do keep teeth from decaying in the future...." She didn't mention teeth being extra-ridged and nor did our dentist.

All my children have had sealant on their teeth. It really does help when the teeth are deeply fissured. My four children have two fillings between them, both of which were acquired as teenagers when they stuffed themselves with sweets and biscuits. Istr that the school dental service offered fissure sealant, although we used our own dentist. It was done FOC on the NHS.

message withdrawn

There was nothing unpleasant about it RobinW. My dentsist explained that it must be ensured that there is no decay prior to the sealants going on because of the risk of decay developing underneath them. My eldest ds is 16yrs old and has no fillings. With the rubbish he eats I am not so sure that would have been the case had he not had sealants.

My experience of my children having sealant applied was the same as yours, Mears - very quick and easy; boring, maybe, for the child but not unpleasant. I'm too scared of them choking to let my littlies have chewing gum, I must admit.

Thanks for all your replies, I knew I could rely on mums.net for answers. I have booked for my son to have the treatment at the begining of Sep.

message withdrawn

They are safe and effective.
Go for it.

I wasn't aware that any of the tooth was removed Robinw. That was why I said that it seemed really easy. It was really quick. It's a good job I didn't know anymore or I might have thought twice about it. Informed choice eh? Sometimes it is better not to know