Hygienist

When you book your car in for a service or MOT you are making sure everything is OK, extending the life of your vehicle and hopefully avoiding any major problems.

Visiting a dental hygienist regularly is like having an MOT for your mouth. We are focused on preventative dental health as well as treating gum disease – tailoring your home care regime and helping you to keep your teeth and gums healthy.

Finding the right dental hygienist is a bit like finding the right mechanic – it has to be someone you trust, have faith in, listens to you and gives you the right advice and care.

Gum disease is the most common chronic inflammatory disease in humans * – 8 out of 10 people aged 35 and over suffer from some kind of gum complaint*

Your hygienist will carefully remove the hard deposits of tartar (or ‘calculus’) that build up on the teeth and teach you how to prevent them coming back. If it is not removed, plaque hardens into calculus (tartar) that’s too stubborn for normal brushing and flossing to remove and can lead to gum disease and cause tooth loss.

By talking to you about your diet, and recommending other preventive measures, the hygienist can help you keep to a routine that will slow down tooth decay and gum disease by helping you keep your mouth in tip-top condition.

Unfortunately, even late into adulthood, many people have never received the right advice on how to clean their teeth and gums properly.

For instance, vigorous brushing in jagged motions can wear away the teeth and gums to expose the sensitive dentine, and hard to reach pockets of plaque build-up can be routinely missed.

I see patients of all ages and I get people who say; ‘How come I’m in my 60s and I don’t know how to brush my teeth properly?’ It really is an important life skill.

It doesn’t matter that you are using an electric toothbrush as it doesn’t clean in between the teeth – you will still be missing 40% of the tooth surface. You also have to improve your oral hygiene routine before dentists start any invasive treatment, otherwise you are addressing the symptom but not the cause of the problem.

You would not build a house on sand so you should not do anything restorative on unsecure foundations.

I think some people are put off because they think the deep cleaning, scaling and polishing will hurt. We take it very gently and appointments go at each patient’s own pace and if you have the right equipment and use it in the right way it should not be painful at all. Local anaesthetic may be used, if required.

At Forde Dental we use the Airflow system, a quick and comfortable way to remove stains and discolouration from red wine, tea and coffee, and thoroughly remove dental plaque.

It uses a mix of water, compressed air and fine powder particles that is efficient at removing the damaging biofilm that develops when dental plaque has been allowed to accumulate.

If you have ever cringed as a scraping tool is used around your gums or a polishing brush or disc presses onto your tooth, you will welcome air polishing because it is painless, simple and clean. There is no probing by metal tools and no vibration or heat, ideal if you suffer from sensitive teeth and is an effective but gentle procedure.

A visit to the hygienist is not just for a clean and polish. It is said that the mouth is the mirror of – our body. Your gums say a lot about you, and just like examining your eyes, they can reveal a lot about your general health too, such as eating disorders, high blood pressure, diabetes, anaemia and oral cancer

We will always advise you on what we discover and make any appropriate suggestions for a visit to your GP, or a referral to other healthcare professionals if necessary.

As dental hygienists, we have a key role in prevention and education by helping you to get the best out of your oral care regime to aid good oral and general health and well-being.

So why not pick up the phone and make that appointment today. Call us on ( 01368 655011 ). Your mouth will thank you for it. Dental Hygienist, Forde Dental