Dental sealants use safe for kids?

Commenting on the new study’s results, co-study author and chairman of social and behavioral sciences at the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine, Dr. Burton Edelstein, said in a press statement:

“People shouldn’t be scared by this. The amount of exposure is extremely low. And the layer that contains BPA can be wiped off with cotton or rinsed off with a stream of water that can then be suctioned away by the dental assistant.”

Dental sealants are used by dentists in dental treatments intending to prevent cavities or other forms of tooth decay, by applying a plastic material to one or more teeth.

The new research study results were recently published in the latest issue of the journal 'Pediatrics.'

Pregnant women should wait
The study researchers revealed that pregnant women should wait until after delivery if they want to go any dental treatment as just like children, they and their developing babies are more susceptible to the harmful effects of the chemical.

“If the woman is in serious need of dental work during pregnancy, she should go ahead and get her teeth fixed. If it’s something that can wait, in the spirit of precaution, we would encourage the woman to wait till after her baby is born,” said Dr. Philip J. Landrigan, study co-author and director of the Children’s Environmental Health Center at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

However, some medical experts believe that this new study could give wrong impression and unnecessary worry to pregnant women as researchers do not possess concrete evidences.

Dr. Jim Crall, a professor of pediatric dentistry at the University of California at Los Angeles believes, “Frankly, I think the article is going a bit beyond the current level of evidence when it comes to pregnant women. And it’s maybe a little overcautious. The science around this is still pretty sketchy as relates to dental exposure.”

No need to ban sealants
Despite having evidences that some components in sealants turns into pure BPA when comes in contact with enzymes in the saliva, majority of medical experts are not in favor of ban on these dental products.

"We believe the high preventive benefits of sealants far outweigh the risk. So until the dental industry creates alternative materials, we recommend their continued use. But we do recommend precautionary application techniques,” concluded Dr. Abby F. Fleisch, a pediatrician in the department of medicine at Children's Hospital Boston.