A sealant is a thin shield painted over the grooves where cavities like to start.

In kid words

"We're going to paint a tiny shield onto the chewing part of your tooth, right where the little grooves are, so sneaky cavities have nowhere to hide." It goes on smooth and sets quickly, and your tooth still looks and feels like your own tooth once it's finished. Your pediatric dentist decides which teeth are ready for one at your regular checkup.

The parent version

Sealant, short for dental sealant, is a thin protective layer applied to the chewing surface of a back tooth, flowing into the natural grooves where a toothbrush bristle often cannot fully reach. Once it hardens, it acts like a smooth shield over those cavity-prone grooves, closing off a spot where food and bacteria like to settle in.

The sealants used in mainstream pediatric dentistry, including here, are BPA-free. Not every tooth needs one, and which teeth are good candidates is a judgment made tooth by tooth at a regular exam, so ask your pediatric dentist which of your child's molars might benefit.

Where you might hear it at our office

Sealants come up as part of preventative care, usually not long after a new set of molars has finished arriving in the back of the mouth. It is one small piece of a visit that also covers cleanings and fluoride, not a separate trip of its own.

Whether a sealant fits your child's plan is worked out at the exam itself, tooth by tooth. If another word from a visit needs unpacking, the rest of the dictionary is right here.

Related words

Words that often come up alongside sealant: groove, fluoride, cavity.