does my son need dental sealants?

[tiredlady]

My 7 yo ds recently went to the dentist who said he had great teeth and excellent dental hygeine. The next day the school dentist came round and we had a letter home saying that my ds needed 4 dental sealants on his back teeth. We spoke to our own dentist who said he wouldn't recommend them as he had such good teeth and that you should really give your kid a x ray every six months to check there is no dental caries underneath.
Help anyone! I am confused. Thanks

Fissure-sealant is recommended if molars have very deep crevices which can trap food and possibly encourage decay.

Odd that your school dentist - who has nothing to gain - has recommended it. Is your own dentist NHS? Maybe he/she wouldn't get paid the cost of the sealant but would be paid more for the Xray? (regular Xrays for children not a good idea I don't think...)

It is a tricky process though; the child has to keep still with mouth open for quite a long time while the tooth dries before the sealant is applied. (DS2 couldn't do it so it didn't stick and just popped off again)

Thanks. My own dentist is NHS. I am quite confused. I have just left things as they are, and hope he won't get any fillings. I agree, X rays are to be avoided.

Does your letter home include contact details? You could ring up and ask the school service to explain the different opinions.

I had dental sealants as a child. They all fell out within a week.

ive had fissure sealants twice,as they do wear away eventually,they are quick and easy to get done,and if they are protecting lo's teeth surely they are a goodthing.i would check with oyur own dentist as to why they dont think he should have them.mine were done both times on the NHS.

I am a dentist in an NHS practice.
We don't get paid AT ALL to take x-rays of kids teeth. We do get paid for sealants.

Thay are not needed for all kids , you make a clinical judgement based on the depth of the tooth grooves, history of decay in baby teeth and other stuff.

I have not fissure sealed the teeth of any of my own 3 kids.

School dentists are the bane of my life.They talk nonsense half the time

sorry that was a bit harsh.
can you tell I have not been sleeping lately?

Sorry, jasper - I was just wondering what might be a reason for the different advice.

(But regular 6-monthly Xrays wouldn't be wise, surely?)

I had fissure sealants applied when I was 14 - I've never needed fillings in these teeth.

I've had terrible trouble with the rest.

Sealants saved my teeth - I had deep fissures in my molars and quite white teeth - (thin enamel) I have two fillings in teeth that wern't sealed.

I never had to have x-rays: my dentist uses a handheld device like an ultrasound (?) to check for cavities within the teeth. no harmful x-rays needed. Sorry I can't be more specific as to what kind of machine it is - it's like a blue pen, and it goes 'ping' if the tooth gets the all clear. Who knew: the machine that goes 'ping'!

I'll get my Dd's teeth sealed : if she has teeth like mine, she'll need them. She has great dental hygine and we try and limit her sugar to just before we brush teeth.

So far so good.

Wendy thats ok
You are dead right about it being a tricky process. It is very technique sensitive and if you can't isolate the tooth and keep it completely dry for about a minute it is a waste of time.
As for 6 monthly x-rays on kids - NEVER! (unless you are in the USA but don't start me on that one!)

Zazen you are talking about the wonderful Diagnodent. Needs to be used in conjunction with other methods - can give false positive readings but not false negatives.