My dentist is trying to talk me into sealants for the kids.$$$

[cvjw]

Both of my kids have them on their molars. Insurance covers them up until age 13. I have had to have a couple of them replaced - one DS grinds his teeth. it only costs $30 per tooth to replace them - money well spent IMO.

 

[kelleyrn2000]

My 8yo has deep grooves in her molars too. Unfortunately she got one cavity there below the gumline, but we have an appt next week to get the other three molars sealed. Now that she has one cavity in the one molar, they won't be able to seal it. Our insurance wont cover them, but it's worth the investment to us. Our insurance doesn't cover the nitrous for fillings, plus we have to pay extra for white fillings, so really it's better to pay for the preventative stuff.

 

[littlele]

DD11 has always had sealants, and they were covered by insurance.

My only word of caution, is that they will wear off, at least they did on her. Long story but we have switched dentists to a dentist that will now reseal any tooth if/when it wears off until she reaches 18. I thought that was a great idea, since the last dentist 'resealed' the teeth at least 3 times before she turned 9.

 

[riley2008]

I'm not sure what I'll do for my boys. It was HIGHLY recommended for me as a child as I have deep groves in my teeth. I didn't get sealants and I don't have one single cavity (did have braces though).

My husband has a mouth full of cavities, but he grew up on well water and didn't visit the dentist regularly.

Both of the boys are great teeth brushers and flossers. We don't have dental insurance, so I'm curious too.

I do wonder if the change in the mandated levels of flouride in municipal water along with better overall dental education has anything to do with the reduction in cavities in the last 20+ years, too.

I guess it's one of those procedures that can't hurt anything but the wallet.

 

[Nicolepa]

My DS7 and DS4 get sealants put on their teeth 2x a year but the insurance company only pays for 1x a year. My youngest had to get 2 crowns and a cavity filled when he was 3 under sedation so we aren't taking any chances! I guess he inherited my bad teeth. My oldest is cavity free (*knock on wood*) The treatment only costs $18 per kid at my dentist. Great for my peace of mind.

I think you are talking about flouride. That would be something that is done 2x a year. Sealants are done once and only done when they wear out. Mine were done at 8-9 and I've had to have a few redone as an adult.

To the OP, I used to get tons of cavities as a child. We're talking 5+ each time I went to the dentist. When we moved our new dentist put sealants on my teeth and I no longer got cavities all the time. This first time might be $$ if they have lots of their adult teeth that haven't been sealed but after that it shouldn't be too much. They should do each adult tooth as soon as they are fully in. My kids get 1-2 sealants at each visit, as they lose their baby teeth.

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

My girls have them. I wish to God I had them when I was young. One of DD14s sealants cracked on a molar and I guess stuff got under the sealant and caused a cavity. They go every 6 months like clockwork so the sealant must have only been that way a couple of months. Best money you can spend. Even if your insurance doesn't cover it, save up and get them. Your kids will thank you when they are adults!

 

[Leajess99]

My kids have them and my youngest will get them when she is old enough. Our insurance covers them and my one daughter has had them placed more than once since she grinds her teeth when she sleeps. My oldest is now 17 and just had a minor cavity filled otherwise never an issue. My 11 year old (the one who grinds her teeth) does have a cavity but it is on a tooth that was just coming in and had yet to be sealed.

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

We aren't there yet with our kids but I had them when I was a kid. No cavities until I was 30!

 

[mhsjax]

My daughter has them on her molars, Dentist said that she has really big crevices on the sides where most people's just dent in a little. told me it was heredity and wanted to know if Me or her father had them. I was the guilty party. He said she really needed a sealant to prevent cavities, I told him I understood as the only cavities I ever had were in my molars.

 

[gower525]

I teach at an inner-city school (94% below the poverty rate). A dentist comes into our school each year to put sealants on all the kids' teeth. All the parents have to do is sign a permission note.

 

[my3squeals]

Another vote for DO IT! I had it done nearly 25 years ago and still no more cavities till this day!. I had 4 before that. I have had it done to my oldest and next on the list will be my 6 yr old when we are ready. Also a note, we lived in an area that had a dental school nearby, they would preform services like sealants for much much less than our dentist if your insurance didn't cover it. It was actually recommended by the hygentist to go to the dental school because it was cheaper if paying OOP.

 

[NYCDiane]

I had sealants put on my DDs teeth and she's never had a cavity. I know the sealants protected her teeth because 1. bad teeth run on both sides of our family and 2. she doesn't brush/floss as well as she should be (although she's gotten much better lately).

When I had them done, I had no insurance at all and paid for everything out of pocket. It was worth it to me to not have her get cavities/decay and go through that pain or the pain in my wallet to pay for it all!

 

[jodebode]

My dad didn't want to spend the money to have sealants put on my teeth when I was younger, even though the dentist recommended it because my teeth had deep grooves. Since then, I've gotten cavities in nearly every tooth I have! (And that's with regular checkups and dental care). I can't say I wouldn't have gotten any cavities if I'd gotten the sealants, but I'd guess it would have helped prevent at least some of them. Lucky for me, most of my cavities came when I was in high school or college so my parents still ended up paying for them... they would have saved a lot of money paying for the sealants!!

 

[Sadie22]

Call your insurance company yourself to verify what they will and will not pay for. Ours paid for them for our kids, but we would have paid out of pocket if they had not. I wish they had had them when I was a child.

Actually, I wish there had been Sonicare toothbrushes when I was younger, too.

 

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

We don't have dental insurance but I chose to get them done on my older DS and my DD when their permanent molars came in. It was $35 per tooth and much, much cheaper than getting a cavity filled, not to mention less traumatic!

 

[stitchlovestink]

I was watching either Dr. Oz or the Doctors last week and they HIGHLY recommended sealants as preventative dental care. They even sealed a tooth on a 'young patient' to show how easy and pain free it was right during the show.
My girls have had theirs done years ago. Our ins. did pay for it.
Good luck with your decision.

 

[MinnieForMe]

I pay out of pocket, $50.00 a tooth for all back, permanent teeth. If it saves us from cavities and the lifetime damage from them, it is worth double that to me!

I would do it even if you only do one tooth a month as your budget allows.

 

[DaniB]

I am a hygienist in Canada. Usually sealants are only done on 6 year molars because they have deep grooves and pits that plaque can get easily trapped in and children around 6 years old when they get them until about age 12 or sometimes even older can be horrible brushers. Kids are notorious for rushing their brush and missing lots of places such as the deep grooves of their molars. Sealants are just like plastic coatings that go in the deep grooves on the surface of the molar and prevent plaque from being trapped their for bacteria to turn into acid and decay the tooth. Worth every penny with kids.

Ok... I'm confused. I have not heard of sealants before! I don't know if this is something I ever had on my teeth, and no one has ever mentioned it to me for my kids! And they both see the dentist regularly... And my daughter (who gets cavities easily it seems) sees a dentist just for children (forget the correct name).

This is not the same thing as a fluoride treatment is it?

 

[mamalle]

good idea I feel. Mine have them also. Granted ours our covered but I do recall a time when I had to pay a portion out of pocket and I did.. between the two- Only one has a cavity.

 

[kinntj]

Both of my DD's have them. Insurance covered them, but even if they didn't I would have had them done out of pocket. I think it's important to have preventative care.

I don't like the fact that your hygienist assumed you were going to jump on the sealant bandwagon. Our dentist asked if we were interested in getting them done and showed me the teeth he wanted them done on. He explained to me how it prevents cavities. I would hate to have a hard sell dentist or a preachy one.