We believe that visiting a dental hygienist is as important as visiting the dentist. A clean and healthy mouth reduces the need for fillings, the possibility of gum disease (gingivitis) and the need for potentially expensive restorative dentistry. This also allows for fresher breath and a gleaming smile. Recent research shows that gingivitis is linked to heart disease and is another reason why seeing our hygienist for regular visits will benefit your overall health.
What happens in your Dental Hygienist appointment?
The Dental Hygienist will:
- Check your medical history and ask if you have any dental problems.
- Discuss your oral health, for example the treatment and prevention of gum (periodontal) disease, receding gums, and tooth wear.
- Give oral hygiene advice, for example tooth brushing and flossing technique.
- Check the appearance of the gums, to see if there is any inflammation or bleeding.
- Remove any hard deposits (calculus) and stain by scaling your teeth.
- Polish your teeth.
Hygienist FAQ’s
A Dental Hygienist is specially trained in the prevention and treatment of gum (periodontal) disease, which is the main cause of adult tooth loss. They work closely alongside your dentist, and are able to scale and polish your teeth. Your hygienist will be able to give advice on all aspects of oral health, provide you with a home care plan and work with you to identify areas where you have difficulty removing plaque.
Your appointment with the hygienist can last anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.Your hygienist is not only trained to clean and polish your teeth, but will also be able to take x-rays and provide other treatments.
Scaling and polishing are usually pain free. If you do feel any discomfort the hygienist can use anaesthetic creams or solutions to prevent any sensitivity.
A Dental Hygienist is specially trained to carry out this work and can spend longer with each patient. Cleaning teeth is a far more complex and skilled procedure than many people realise and our hygienists will maximise their time spent with you. One of the most important roles of the hygienist at the practice is to give dietary advice on the prevention of dental decay.
Our hygienists can help children in a number of ways. Firstly and most importantly, they can advise children on helping them get into healthy dental habits through gentle friendly instruction. As well as scaling and polishing children’s teeth, they are also able to apply fluoride gels and lotions to help fight tooth decay. In addition they can help determine the causes and solutions for symptoms such as grinding teeth.
