Dental Hygiene
Maintaining a healthy mouth
It's not just teeth that are important, we need healthy gums and bone to support them. Should you ever need advanced dental treatments, your gum and bone support need to be at their optimum.
Reducing dental treatment
After any course of dental treatment it is vital that oral hygiene is maintained to minimise future dental treatment.
Minimising medical conditions
Recent dental research has shown a strong link between poor gum health and heart disease, diabetes type 2, respiratory conditions, stroke and many other serious medical conditions. Good oral hygiene and regular hygienist visits are now recognised as extremely important as a result.
Our hygienists will always seek to keep you well informed and ensure you get the maximum benefit from your regular appointments.
Preventive dentistry is the modern approach, reducing the amount of dental treatment required to maintain a healthy mouth and help keep your teeth for life.
The work of the hygienist compliments that of the dentist and focuses on prevention. It is the recommended approach for everyone - including people with false teeth, who can benefit through the early identification of more serious conditions like mouth cancer.
Regular appointments with the hygienist, coupled with checkups and appropriate treatments from the dentist, can help prevent the need for future fillings and extractions.
Reasons to see a Hygienist
Routine preventative care and maintaining healthy gums
This is a prerequisite for a healthy mouth. The Hygienist can remove tartar build-up, clean out food trapped between teeth and other soft tissues, and polish the teeth. They will monitor the general condition of your teeth and soft tissues and recommend a further dental examination if necessary.
Oral hygiene instructions
The Hygienist will demonstrate the most modern and effective way of removing plaque. On some occasions the patient may be asked to bring their brushes along so that the hygienist can monitor the technique and correct if necessary. New and current dental products are introduced and recommended as appropriate.
Fresh breath
The hygienist can identify problems that create mouth odour and provide solutions to the underlying cause. The hygienist will also help you choose the correct dental products to use.
Treating gum disease
-
Bleeding gums (Inflamed gums)
-
Loose teeth (bone loss)
-
Receding gums
-
Gum abscesses
​
Polishing stained teeth (Prophy-Jet®)
PROPHY-JET is an air polishing prophylaxis system which uses air, water, and either sodium bicarbonate (ProphyJet®) or non-sodium (JET Fresh®) powder as a slurry to remove extrinsic stain, dental plaque and soft debris while simultaneously polishing tooth surfaces. Recommended to clean tooth surfaces prior to bonding procedures and placement of dental sealants. Highly effective in use on patients wearing orthodontic appliances. Sodium bicarbonate is accepted by most patients and is both minimally abrasive and water soluble.
​
The patient will have had a thorough examination by the dentist before seeing the hygienist, and an appropriate treatment plan will have been created which the hygienist will follow. This can range from a simple scaling to treating individual problem areas with local anaesthetic.
What is a Hygienist appointment like?
-
First, the Hygienist will give you a thorough examination to check the state of health of your gums.
​
-
They will give you the necessary course of treatment and advice to help you return your gums to health, and stabilize the gum problem, to prevent re-occurrence by placing you on a maintenance program.
​
-
This will vary from 3,4 or 6 monthly visits to the Hygienist depending on individual needs.
​
-
The Hygienist will be removing Plaque (a sticky film of bacteria-the cause of gum disease), Tartar (calcified plaque), and stains.
​
-
The Hygienist will inform you as to how many visits she will need to remove all the deposits present. This will vary depending on the clinical situation, and individual needs.
​
-
Once all the deposits have been removed, the Hygienist will place you on a preventative maintenance programme of 3, 4, 6 months, depending on individual needs again.
​
-
During your course of treatment the Hygienist will also be giving you Dental Health Education - showing you and advising you as to what products you need to use at home to keep the plaque levels to a minimum, maintaining your professional cleaning.
​
By keeping up with your personal and professional cleaning routine you will be able to stabilize any gum problems, and prevent re-occurrence.