Dental sealants for children, sealing the grooves a brush cannot reach.
A sealant is a thin coating painted into the deep grooves on the chewing surface of a child's back molars, where a toothbrush bristle is physically too wide to reach. It takes a few minutes per tooth, with no drilling and no injection. At Lumident sealants are placed according to each child's cavity risk rather than on a fixed schedule.
What happens when a sealant is placed
One short, painless appointment, often combined with a routine checkup rather than booked on its own.
At a checkup
Risk assessment first
Which teeth benefit depends on the depth of the grooves, the child's cavity history, and what they eat and drink between meals. Not every child needs every molar sealed.
A few minutes
Clean and prepare
The chewing surface is cleaned and dried, and a preparation gel is applied for a few seconds so the coating bonds properly. Nothing is drilled and no anesthetic is needed.
Same visit
Paint and set
The sealant is flowed into the grooves and hardened with a light. The child can eat straight afterwards.
Ongoing
Checked at every visit
Sealants wear and occasionally chip. They are inspected at each routine checkup and topped up when needed rather than replaced wholesale.
What sealants do not cover
A sealant protects the grooved chewing surface and nothing else. The surfaces between the teeth, where many childhood cavities actually start, are still decided by flossing, fluoride, and what a child drinks between meals. A sealant is also not a treatment for a tooth that already has decay in the groove: sealing over active decay traps it, so the tooth is assessed properly first. Timing matters too, since the protection is worth most in the first years after a molar comes through, which is when it is most vulnerable and when a six-year-old is least likely to be brushing it well.
Who does this at Lumident
The Pediatric department
Pediatric Dentistry
Sealants are placed by the pediatric department as part of a prevention plan built around the individual child, alongside fluoride and brushing guidance, rather than applied to every molar by default.
Questions parents ask about sealants
Short answers first; anything specific to your teeth comes from a consultation.
What are dental sealants?
A thin protective coating painted into the deep grooves on the chewing surfaces of the back teeth, where a toothbrush bristle is physically too wide to reach. It seals the groove so food and bacteria cannot settle in it.
Does applying a sealant hurt?
No. There is no drilling and no injection. The tooth is cleaned and dried, the coating is painted on and set with a light, and the whole thing takes a few minutes per tooth.
At what age should children get sealants?
Usually shortly after the first permanent molars come through around age six, and again for the second molars around age twelve. At Lumident the timing follows each child's cavity risk rather than a fixed schedule.
How long do dental sealants last?
Several years, and they are checked at each routine visit for wear or chipping. A worn sealant is topped up rather than replaced wholesale.
Do sealants replace brushing or fluoride?
No. Sealants protect only the grooved chewing surfaces. Brushing, fluoride, and what a child drinks between meals still decide what happens to the surfaces in between the teeth.
Wondering whether your child needs sealants?
Tell us your child's age and whether they have had cavities before. The department will tell you whether sealants are worth doing now and which teeth are ready.
