Fissure sealing is a method recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to children all over the world to protect newborn permanent teeth, and it has been used to prevent fissure caries for more than 30 years since it was introduced in the 1970s, and it is considered to be the most effective method to prevent fissure caries at present. It has been widely used in foreign countries, but it is still not widely used in China. According to the national epidemiological survey in 2005, the rate of fissure sealing for 12-year-old children in China was only 1.1%, which is far below the level of developed countries. What is the meaning of fissure sealing? There are many tiny grooves on the chewing surface of the teeth, inside which there are food debris and bacteria, and tooth decay is easy to start from these parts. Fissure sealing refers to an effective caries prevention method that does not remove the tooth tissue on the occlusal surface, but coats it with a layer of adhesive resin to protect the enamel from bacteria and metabolites, and to enhance the tooth’s ability to resist caries, thus preventing caries from occurring. Fissure sealant forms a protective barrier, preventing bacteria and food debris from entering the fissure, and at the same time causing the original bacteria in the fissure to die gradually due to nutrient deprivation, thus preventing the occurrence of fissure caries, and also stopping the development of early caries. Why do I need to do fissure sealing? Some of the grooves on the surface of newly erupted teeth are deep and narrow, which are very difficult to clean, and it is easy to accumulate food debris. Over time, these substances are utilized by bacteria in the grooves to produce acid, which attacks the teeth and leads to tooth decay. What kind of teeth is fissure sealing applied to? Fissure sealing is mainly applied to molar, permanent molar and permanent premolar. Teeth with the following conditions are suitable for fossa sealing: (1) deep fossa pockets on the occlusal, buccal and lingual-palatal surfaces, especially fossa pockets where a probe can be inserted or stuck (including suspected caries); (2) the contralateral tooth of the same name is already affected by caries or has a tendency to be affected by caries; and (3) the tooth erupts up to the occlusal plane or the crowns of the teeth fossa pockets are all completely exposed to the oral cavity after the fossa pockets are exposed to the oral cavity. Teeth with the following conditions are not suitable for fissure sealing: (1) the occlusal surface has no deep fissure points, and the self-cleaning effect is good; (2) the tooth has not yet fully erupted, and part of the occlusal surface is covered by the gums. Fossa sealing time? The best time for sealing is when the crowns of the teeth are fully erupted and caries has not yet occurred, usually at the age of 3-5 years old for milk molar, 6-8 years old for the first permanent molar, and 11-13 years old for the second permanent molar. How to do fissure sealing? Fossa sealing operation is simple, without any pain, easy to be accepted by children, need to be operated by professionals using special equipment, the specific operation steps include the following 6 steps: (1) cleaning the tooth surface: special brushes with special cleaning agents thoroughly for the preparation of the closed tooth surface of the fossa to be cleaned, as far as possible to remove the surface of the teeth and the fossa of the impurities and bacteria (2) Acid etching: cleaning the tooth surface that is, after the wet with cotton rolls separated, the Blow dry the tooth surface and keep it dry. Use a small brush or a small cotton ball dipped in the appropriate amount of acid etching agent coated in the fossa area of the tooth surface to be closed, acid etching of the tooth surface. Rinse with a water gun for 10 to 15 seconds after etching to ensure that the residual acid etching agent is rinsed away. (3) drying: rinse immediately after the cotton roll wet and blow-dry tooth surface, blow-dry tooth surface should be chalky appearance, if the acid-etched tooth surface does not appear this phenomenon, indicating that the degree of acid etching is not enough, should be re-etched. Operation to ensure that the acid-etched tooth surface is not contaminated by saliva, if salivary contamination occurs, the tooth surface should be rinsed again, thoroughly dry and repeat the steps of acid etching. (4) Applying sealer:Using a small brush or special instrument, dip the appropriate amount of sealer and apply it on the dry tooth surface, so that the sealer can fully penetrate into the fossa pitting. (6) Curing:Immediately after the light-curing sealer is applied, irradiate the sealer with a light-curing lamp to harden the sealer. (7) Inspection:After the sealant is cured, use the probe to conduct a comprehensive inspection. Check the degree of curing, the presence of air bubbles, looking for missed or unsealed fossa and re-sealed; check the occlusal relationship, if the sealant is too thick should be adjusted grinding. Precautions The caries prevention effect of fissure sealing is directly related to the retention rate of sealant, so the operation must be strict and standardized. After sealing, the fossa should be rechecked regularly (three months, half a year or one year) to observe the retention of sealant, and should be resealed in time if it is found to have fallen off.