• DarthBueller@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    You know how they seal kids teeth, and insurance covers it? It basically keeps kids from getting cavities until the sealant eventually wears off. Well, they could put the same sealant on adults. But they don’t.

    • Mothra@mander.xyz
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      1 year ago

      I’ve lived in at least two places where that treatment is available for adults. Insurance may cover it depending on what kind of insurance you got, it is expensive but not ridiculously so in comparison to other dental procedures.

      • DarthBueller@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I had it done in the USA in the 90s when I had my adult teeth, not sure if it was before or after I got my 12 year molars. I asked about it a few years ago and the dentist said that insurance only covers it for kids.

        • MonkderZweite@feddit.ch
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          1 year ago

          What do they use for sealing? I’m swiss and we don’t do this. Is it because you have corn sirup everywhere?

          edit: so, uh, is this widespread?

          • DarthBueller@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            I have no idea. It’s white and it cures hard with exposure to UV light. It might just be filling media used as a surface sealant—not a dentist, sorry.

    • bluebooby@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      My wife works in dental insurance so I asked her. She said for the general public, the effectiveness of the sealant decreases as the client ages, because an adult’s tooth is more smooth than a child’s. So there’s a critical age where the cons outweighs the pros.

      • Piecemakers@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        If you think that the entire dental industry is fully prepared and willing to negate billions of dollars in profit per year but the porosity of adult teeth has simply tied their hands… I’ve got a couple bridges to sell you.

        • kephalos@discuss.tchncs.de
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          1 year ago

          I am 38 and have so far had no cavity. Turns out adults have a very easy handle on dental hygiene, brushing your teeth, flossing and avoiding candy and sweet drinks

    • Kanzar
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      1 year ago

      It’s useful in immature teeth because the grooves have not yet taken up enough fluoride to be acid resistant enough against the modern diet. Not all immature teeth need them either, as not everyone has those deep grooves. Furthermore, this only protects against decay on that surface if it’s done well - and a lot of the time a wriggly kid means saliva has contaminated the surface and now you have an extra interface of failure.

      In adults the benefit is a lot less (if the groove was decay prone, they would have formed a cavity there by the time they see a dentist), and doing this procedure may actually increase the risk of decay than reduce (due to the extra interface of failure).

      Lastly, this only protects that surface - not in between teeth. A lot of cavities happen between because there’s a lot of plaque being left behind there… Because almost nobody flosses properly.

      Use your interdental brushes folks! And stop drinking soda… And use extra high fluoride toothpaste.

      • DarthBueller@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Does fluoride do anything for adults? I had a retired MD-credentialed public health director recently tell me that it only is useful for the first (7? Can’t remember) years of life.

        • Kanzar
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          1 year ago

          Mineral constantly comes in and out of the enamel crystal matrix due to acid challenge (which occurs for a variety of reasons), and including fluoride when it goes back in creates a more acid resistant crystal.

          This occurs no matter the age of the individual. Systemic uptake is something to be mindful of at young ages, so it’s actually important to have not too much when younger, but you can go up to an adult dose past the age of 7.

          • DarthBueller@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            That’s what I had always heard. He told me the contrary info but then said he still ordered the water to be fluoridated back when he took over a health director position. He’s not a conspiracy guy so I wonder where he got his info. He could be just a bit flaky with age.

    • Alytastic@lemmy.one
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      1 year ago

      One of the reasons we don’t seal adult teeth is because insurance doesn’t cover it and people don’t want to pay for it (there are other reasons like prior fillings, loss of tooth structure, groove being less prominent, etc). If someone asks for it to be done and agrees to pay out of pocket we’ll definitely do it.

    • dalekcaan@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      I’ve had it done as a young adult. Fluoride treatments too. Maybe my dentist is weird, but some places definitely do it.