Hygienist services
What is gum disease?
Gum disease is where your gums are red and swollen. Symptoms of gum disease are bleeding gums,
bad breath, loose teeth and swollen gums
47.2% of adults aged 30 years and older have some form of periodontal disease. Periodontal/Gum disease increases with age, 70.1% of adults 65 years and older have periodontal/gum disease.
Gum disease is caused by a build-up of plaque on the teeth. Plaque is a sticky substance that contains bacteria. Some bacteria is harmless and some bacteria is harmful. It can only be removed by brushing and flossing and the hardened bacteria can only be physically removed by seeming a dental professional i.e the hygienist.
How to prevent gum disease?
Gum disease can be prevented by maintaining a good oral hygiene and by visiting your dentist regularly for check-ups and your hygienist for clean/scale and polish.
What happens on the hygienist appointment ?
Hygienist offer a professional teeth cleaning service also called as deep cleaning of your gums and polishing your teeth They remove all the plaque or tartar build up in those areas where brushing can not reach, they perform a clean and polish to remove any superficial stains on your teeth and they offer a tailored advice on how to maintain good dental health and also teach you techniques to maintain oral hygiene yourself at home.
How often should I visit the hygienist?
This is dependant on each individuals needs and varies from person to person. The frequency of the visits will be determined by your dentist and your hygienist depending on your clinical needs. Your dentist may also recommend you to see a hygienist for a thorough clean before beginning a complex dental treatment such as dental implants.
What if I have been diagnosed with advanced gum disease?
If you have been diagnosed with advanced gum disease you will need to see a hygienist as well as a Periodontist, ask you dentist for more advice on this.
We offer hygienist appointments for our patients and also our hygienist is available through direct access which means even if you are not a patient of our surgery but still you can see our hygienist, you do not need to see our dentist before that, as long as you are aware the hygienist you see will only be cleaning your gums and polishing them, will not be doing any dental checks or checking your teeth. Our hygiene appointments are 25 to 30mins each. The hygienist will give a deep clean to your gums and polish your teeth and will inform you when to book next depending on the health of your gums. It is £67.50 for each hygienist appointment.
We also offer Air Polishing for your teeth, it helps in removing stain and brings a brighter and shiner smile.
For further queries please call 01922624900.
Direct access hygienist
Our current hygienist is licenced for direct access. What that means is that you don’t need a referral from a dentist to see the hygienist. She has the additional qualification and approval to see you directly. Therefore if you just was treatment for gum disease and/ or a clean and polish you can book directly with our hygiensit.
Please remember though, that the hygienist won’t be able to diagnose the same as a dentist, for example, checking for holes in your teeth, or diagnosing oral cancer, so we alway recommend that you have regular checks ups with the dentist too. Obviously if the hygienist notices something that is out of her training to deal with she will let you know and refer appropriately, but it is not, and should not be considered to be a full mouth check up.