Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Dental Sealants Are They Safe - Yes Or No?

Dental-Sealants

Graphic courtesy of the Tennessee Department of Health


The New York Times has their typical alarmist piece up today about a component of most dental sealants, bisphenol-A, or BPA.

Sealants are safe and effective.

Just this month, a review of 16 studies by the Cochrane Collaboration, a nonprofit group that evaluates medical research, showed sealants offered significant protection from cavities. In the seven studies that compared sealants and regular brushing alone, the 5- to 10-year-olds who used sealants had less than half as much decay on biting surfaces four and a half years after the treatment. One study with a nine-year followup found that only 27 percent of sealed tooth surfaces had developed cavities, compared with 77 percent of unsealed surfaces.

But, if you are worried about BPA ask your dentist to use (All carried the 2007 American Dental Association seal):

  • Helioseal from Ivoclar Vivadent
  • Seal-Rite from the Pulpdent Corporation
  • Conseal f from SDI (North America)
And, watch for more studies about BPA.

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