Man, I feel this. My oldest grinds his teeth like he’s trying to start a fire, and we had the same issue with sealants not sticking around long. Dentist said it’s partly the moisture thing, but also just how much pressure those molars take if your kid’s a grinder. Did your dentist mention any of those newer “self-etch” sealants? I read somewhere they’re supposed to bond better even with less-than-perfect dryness, but I’m not sure if it’s just hype or actually works in real life.
Yeah, my kid’s basically a woodchipper at night too—sometimes I swear I hear him from the other room and it’s like, how do you even HAVE that many teeth left? We tried sealants twice now. First round just peeled right off after a couple months, second time they lasted maybe a year? Dentist blamed the “saliva factor” and said it’s almost impossible to keep a squirmy kid’s mouth totally dry long enough for the old-school sealants to really set.
I did ask about those self-etch ones after seeing some random TikTok about dental tech (don’t judge me, my algorithm is weird). Our dentist was kinda on the fence—said they’re promising but still not a magic bullet if your kid is grinding hard or if there’s a ton of moisture. But honestly, if it buys us more time between re-dos, I’m game to try anything that doesn’t involve wrestling my son in the chair for 20 minutes.
What gets me is how much this stuff changes. Like, when I was a kid, nobody even mentioned sealants. Now it feels like every other parent is talking about which brand their dentist uses. Has anyone had luck with those UV-cured ones? Or do they just sound fancy and end up popping off anyway?
Also, low-key wondering if anyone’s tried those custom mouth guards for nighttime grinding? My dentist suggested it but my son acts like it’s medieval torture every time we bring it up. Curious if they actually help with keeping molars intact or if it’s just another thing to fight about at bedtime...