Hygienist Treatment

Hygienist treatment is of particular importance in the prevention of dental disease.

Regular professional tooth surface cleaning prevents the build up of plaque and tartar both above and below the gum line, removes stains and makes your breath fresher.

Gum disease is the commonest cause of tooth loss in adults. Regular hygienist appointments can help prevent this.

What Gum Disease?

Plaque is the accumulation of a biofilm on teeth that

is colonised by bacteria. This causes an inflammatory

response in gums making them red and swollen.

They often bleed and can be uncomfortable. If this persists for a long time the bone loss can occur

creating a dental gum pocket. This is called gum

disease. Plaque can calcify and become tartar. This

is very stubborn an can build up on teeth both

above and below the gum line.

How can you prevent gum disease?

The hygienists treatment is very important in

removal of the stubborn tartar and to help

cleaning in the harder to reach areas. Some

require more regular attention than others. Some

may have a genetic predisposition to gum disease others medical complications and there

are some social factors such as smoking.

The biggest help in prevention comes from you

and your oral hygiene regime. The hygienist will ensure you have information and demonstrate the

important techniques required to keep a healthy

mouth for life.

When pockets exist they can accelerate the

progression of gum disease. Eventually there is so

much bone loss that the teeth become loose and

painful. Repeated gum infections can occur and

result in the tooth or teeth requiring extraction. Gum disease can also make your breath smell.

How do we treat gum disease?

The hygienists will carefully debride the teeth

removing the plaque and tartar above and below

the gum line.

Sometimes when the gums are particularly inflamed this can be quite sore. In these cases we

often recommend the use of local anaesthetic to

make things more comfortable and also easier for

us.

Our HygienistTeam

Hygienists work under the instruction or prescription of a dentist. They gain a university qualification, a Diploma of Oral Hygiene, that

permits them to debride teeth and use local anaesthetic. They are indemnified to provide this treatment and are regulated by the General Dental Council.

At the Half Moon Dental Centre our hygienist appointments can be arranged by prescription from a dentist in the form of a referral letter.

What will I expect from an appointment?

Appointments are available for 30 minutes or 1 hour.

The amount of time required for cleaning varies from

patient to patient according to disease susceptibility.

The hygienist will spend time assessing your oral

hygiene technique and advising you of

improvements that can be made to aid prevention.

Time may be spent recording your gum disease

status in order to monitor improvement. This is done

by measuring gum pocket depth, plaque levels and

amount of gum bleeding.

The cleaning of teeth is done both manually with

hand instruments as shown in the picture or with an

ultrasonic scaler.

Periodontist Treatment

If your gum disease is not responding to

conventional hygienist techniques she may discuss with you the need to see our Periodontist. A Specialist Periodontist is a dentist that specialises in the treatment of gum disease. You can gain further information from reading our

periodontal leaflet.