Dental Sealants for Athletes: Why They’re a Must-Have for Oral Protection
Would you imagine that amateur and professional athletes have many oral health problems? You imagine them as fit, healthy, active individuals with healthy diets to keep their bodies fit and endure strenuous athletic activities.
If you are involved in athletic activities, you likely maintain excellent dental hygiene and brush your teeth twice daily than other people. Unfortunately, despite the preventive measures athletes adopt, they have significantly higher rates of oral infections than others. It is challenging to believe studies surveying Olympic athletes from various sporting disciplines were found to have issues like tooth decay, gum disease, and enamel erosion. The surveyed athletes were also provided questionnaires about their oral hygiene regimen and scored impressive results.
Unfortunately, the athletes also had untreated tooth decay, and most of them were affected by gum inflammation. They also reported that dental problems were harming their performance and training. The oral health problems affecting adults, especially tooth decay, make one wonder whether they will benefit from dental sealants usually recommended for children’s molars as a preventive measure against cavities.
What Are Dental Sealants?
Dental sealants are a slimy plastic coating applied on the back teeth as a preventive measure against cavities developing on them. The sealants create a smoother chewing surface on the molars, making them easier to clean. However, deep pits and fissures allow food particles and bacteria to remain trapped in them, resulting in enamel erosion and tooth decay.
Why Are Dental Sealants Important for Athletes?
Whether elite or amateur, athletes frequently use sports drinks, energy bars, and gels containing sweetened refined carbohydrates. These foods and beverages significantly contribute to the decay by remaining trapped in the molars and encouraging mouth bacteria to erode tooth enamel and create cavities. As the molars are challenging to clean with a toothbrush or dental floss, athletes receive additional help in preventing this problem by getting dental sealants on their teeth as a preventive measure against tooth decay. If you are involved in athletic activities and accustomed to having the foods and beverages mentioned, it helps if you request the dentist near you to help safeguard your molars with dental sealants.
The Dental Sealant Procedure
The dentist in Atlanta, GA, completes the dental sealant procedure in a few minutes as the sealants are applied only on the chewing surfaces of the molars. If you have molars without restorations like fillings, you can request the dentist for sealants to help protect against tooth decay.
When receiving dental sealants in Atlanta, GA, the dentist first cleans the molars and dries them with absorbent material. Next, they apply an etching solution to the molars to help the sealant adhere to the tooth. After that, the molars are cleaned and dried with similar absorbent material to ensure saliva doesn’t contaminate their surface. Finally, the dentist applies the dental sealant on the tooth and hardens it with ultraviolet light before shaping the molars to ensure your bite does not feel out of place.
Getting dental sealants near you for children is affordable, and the prices are reduced further by discount plans and insurance providers. However, as an adult, it helps to inquire about the costs of dental sealants with the dentist beforehand to avoid surprises after receiving the treatment.
Benefits of Dental Sealants
The most significant benefit dental sealants offer is creating smoother surfaces on your molars to make them easier to clean with your toothbrush. In addition, the sealants protect against 80 percent of cavities for two years after the application, and the protection remains ongoing for another four against 50 percent of holes. The bonds remain on your teeth for up to nine years, although they need monitoring by the Atlanta dentist during regular dental checkups.
Dental sealants are a preventive measure against tooth decay on the molars, where cavities tend to occur because the teeth are challenging to clean. However, the material is not as durable as your tooth enamel, making it a requirement for you to avoid using your back teeth to bite complex objects because you can chip or crack the sealants to allow mouth bacteria to penetrate the tooth sooner or later. When you visit dentists for six monthly exams, they can examine the sealed molars to reapply the sealants if they notice chips or cracks. Finally, you also receive advice from the dentist to rethink your intake of energy foods and beverages and adopt more efficient oral health habits to safeguard your teeth.
As an athlete, you may think your teeth are not vulnerable to cavities. However, they remain at a heightened risk of tooth decay because of the energy bars, sports drinks, and other foods and beverages you have. However, if you visit 3640 Dental, you can request dental sealants to protect your molars from cavities. Kindly visit the practice today to safeguard your teeth from significant damage.)