Development
Since the 1980s, in the United States, the incidence of tooth decay on the smooth surfaces of teeth has declined, in part because of fluoridation becoming widespread in public water supplies and because of improved dental hygiene among the public. However, because the teeth in the back of the mouth (molars and premolars) have numerous pits and fissures on their biting surfaces, certain areas of these teeth are often difficult to clean even with vigorous tooth-brushing. To remedy this, research into dental sealants began in the 1960s, and by the early 1970s the first generation of sealants became available and were approved by the FDA.
Sealants painted over pits and fissures in the chewing surfaces of back teeth block food from being trapped and any carbohydrate like sugar being changed to acid by resident plaque bacteria and halts demineralisation and the caries process.
Fissure sealants can be forced deeper inside pits and fissures under pressure where the tooth was dissolved in acid, showing how food is forced inside even the deepest most minute pits of chewing surfaces.
Read more about this topic: Dental Sealant
Famous quotes containing the word development:
“John B. Watson, the most influential child-rearing expert [of the 1920s], warned that doting mothers could retard the development of children,... Demonstrations of affection were therefore limited. “If you must, kiss them once on the forehead when they say goodnight. Shake hands with them in the morning.””
—Sylvia Ann Hewitt (20th century)
“The highest form of development is to govern one’s self.”
—Zerelda G. Wallace (1817–1901)
“Understanding child development takes the emphasis away from the child’s character—looking at the child as good or bad. The emphasis is put on behavior as communication. Discipline is thus seen as problem-solving. The child is helped to learn a more acceptable manner of communication.”
—Ellen Galinsky (20th century)