Pit and fissure sealants, preventive resin restorations
Paediatric and Preventive Dentistry · Dental (BDS)
Study notes
A 7-year-old's first molars have deep sticky fissures but no caries. Why seal now? First molars erupt at 6 into a high-risk mouth - sealing deep fissures before bacteria colonize prevents the commonest childhood caries site. Students learn prevention's timing: seal the fissure when the tooth erupts, not when it decays - because a sealed fissure never becomes the cavity that needed the filling.
Related topics
- Growth and development: dental age, chronology of dentitions
- Child psychology and behavior management techniques
- Preventive dentistry: diet counseling, oral hygiene instruction
- Fluorides: systemic, topical, fluoride varnish, fluorosis
- Dental caries in children: ECC, rampant caries management
- Pulp therapy in primary teeth: pulpotomy, pulpectomy