The dental hygienist helps to keep your teeth looking sparkly and clean
What does the hygienist do?
The dental hygienist specialises in preventative dentistry and in particular, looking after the health of your gums. They will also offer advice on the best oral hygiene routine to follow at home as well as offering advice on lifestyle factors such as diet and smoking that can have a detrimental effect on the health of your teeth and gums.
What will happen at my hygienist appointment?
At each visit, our hygienist will do three main things:
- Assess or re-assess your gum health, home care routines and lifestyle
- Remove any hard plaque
- Work with you to control damaging dental plaque so that your mouth can be healthier. Our hygienist will provide you with the skills, tools and techniques to help remove plaque from every surface of every tooth, every day!
Why doesn’t the dentist do this?
The hygienist has been specially trained to carry out scaling and polishing and can spend more time with you. They are also experts at teaching you how to look after your teeth in between appointments.
Will the treatment hurt?
Scaling and polishing is usually pain free. If you do experience any discomfort, let the hygienist know as she will be able to apply a numbing cream or use local anaesthetic to ensure your visit is pain free.
What oral hygiene routine should I follow?
Follow this simple routine for a perfect daily dental hygiene routine.
- Brush your mouth morning and night using a fluoride toothpaste, concentrating on all areas of your teeth and gums
- Daily flossing or Tepe brushes help to remove plaque and tartar in between your teeth in areas brushing alone misses
- Limit sugary foods and drinks to mealtimes
- And of course! A regular dental hygiene appointment with our experienced dental hygienist to remove plaque and tartar from those hard to reach areas
What is Periodontal treatment?
Periodontitis otherwise referred to as gum disease, affects the gums, bone and other supporting tissues of the teeth. It is a more severe form of gum inflammation which causes underlying bone loss and could lead to mobility and loss of teeth. Periodontitis can not be cured, but it can be treated. Periodontal treatment is a non-surgical approach called root surface debridement or we may also refer to this as ‘deep cleaning’.
Periodontal treatment involves cleaning below the gum line to remove plaque and other bacteria from periodontal pockets with the aim to stabilise and arrest the disease. We will quite often use a local anaesthetic to ‘numb’ the area that needs treatment. The majority of patients with periodontal disease will require ongoing periodontal therapy and maintenance.
Benefits of visiting the Hygienist:
- Learn how to effectively brush your teeth – demonstrations on effective tooth brushing can help you to remove plaque without causing tooth wear and receding gums.
- Improve the health of your teeth and gums – regular scaling and polishing helps to keep your teeth and gums health by removing plaque and calculus that can build up and cause gum disease.
- Address the secondary causes of gum disease – by addressing lifestyle factors such as diet and smoking you can help to improve the health of your teeth and gums.
- Remove stains – the hygienist will be able to polish your teeth to remove food and drink stains and therefore give you a brighter, whiter smile.
- Remineralise the early signs of tooth caries – the hygienist can apply fluoride varnishes to help prevent cavities from developing.