Fissure sealants

A Fissure sealant does what it says on the tin. It seals the fissures of your teeth to make it easier to keep them clean.

Your back teeth are made up of cusps and fissures. A cusp is the pointy bit that is like a little mountain. Between these mountains are little valleys. These are what we call the fissures.

Fissures between the cusps on back teeth can be quite deep, sometimes so deep that it is impossible to keep bugs and bacteria out of them. This will commonly lead to decay because you just can’t keep it clean. In situations where the fissures are too deep to keep clean or maybe when your child has previously been at risk of decay, it can be helpful to seal the fissures. This just makes cleaning easier and keeps bugs out.

The material is like a white filling material. It is flowed into the fissure and then set with a blue light. It’s a nice simple treatment. The worst thing about it is that you need to stay open during the procedure but that should only take a couple of minutes.

If decay has already started in the fissure, the decay may need to be quickly cleaned away but otherwise it’s really easy. The procedure involves washing the tooth, drying it, placing the sealer and finally using the light to set it.

This is only a preventative procedure. If there is decay in the tooth already then sealing it will not be enough. You need to get rid of that decay.