Dental Health Twin studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that the average U.S. adolescent of the 1970s had six or seven cavities; his 1990s counterpart, just three. Today’s teenagers are twice as likely to return from the dentist and report, “Look, Ma, no cavities!”—to quote a famous toothpaste commercial of yesteryear. Dr. Jim Steiner, director of pediatric dentistry at Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, attributes the improvement in young people’s dental health primarily to increased access to fluoridation. “Fluoride reduces tooth decay as well as slows down the decaying process,” he explains. “More than 95 percent of all toothpastes now have fluoride in them, and about 65 percent of our population drinks fluoridated water.” A related advance is the use of dental sealants, clear or white thin plastic coatings that can be painted onto permanent teeth. As Dr. Steiner explains, “Fluoride protects the areas between the teeth. But it can’t always reach the chewing surfaces of the back molars.” Sealants fill the tiny pits and grooves of those teeth, the site of most cavities Dental Chair. Second molars typically arrive around age twelve. One sealant application costs roughly half the price of a filling. Teens who do develop cavities have less reason to dread the dentist’s chair than you might have when you were their age. New dental instruments such as the laser and the air abrasion unit make getting fillings virtually painless. Laser therapy doesn’t require anesthesia implant machine. Nor do many treatments with the air abrasion handpiece, which resembles a tiny sandblaster. However, the devices can’t be used in all situations, so don’t expect to see the high-speed drill become obsolete anytime soon. Another advance of interest to young patients is cosmetic. Beside the traditional silver-colored metal alloy used to fill cavities, a composite material can be used so that the color can be tinted to match the teeth contra angle handpiece.