How Much Is a Dental Hygiene Clean?
Visiting a dental hygienist regularly is an important part of your oral health and should be part of your routine. If you have an appointment coming up, you might be wondering what to expect, what will happen during your appointment and how much it will cost.
We’re Didsbury Dental Practice, experts in dental hygiene and cleaning, and we’re here to help you understand the importance of dental hygiene and to tell you about your first cleaning appointment.
The importance of seeing a dental hygienist
Dental hygiene is important as it refers to the overall health of your teeth, gums and mouth. Part of maintaining good dental hygiene is attending regular appointments with a dental hygienist. Failure to do this could result in health implications as poor oral health affects more than just your mouth.
Poor dental hygiene can lead to health problems from gum disease and acne, to stomach problems and potentially even mouth cancer. Most people already know how to take care of their oral health, but sometimes it’s the area of our health that we let slip and it’s good to have a reminder about just how important it is.
What happens during a dental hygiene appointment?
We recommend seeing a dental hygienist around once every 6 months, but this will also depend on the condition of your teeth and whether you attend an NHS dental surgery or private surgery. For patients who have excellent oral hygiene, they may only need to see a dental hygienist once a year.
During your dental hygiene appointment, it will be different than attending a standard dental check-up. Your dental hygienist will provide a professional cleaning service of your teeth to remove hardened plaque and they use a process called scaling and polishing.
Dental hygiene appointments aren’t uncomfortable or painful, so there is nothing to worry about, and you will love the feel of your teeth after your appointment has finished. Your teeth will feel super clean and you will notice a more prominent shape around your teeth, particularly around the back where plaque has built up over time in between your teeth.
The dental cleaning process
They will begin by looking at your teeth and examining where the most affected areas of your mouth are. Then, they will scale your teeth to remove any plaque or tartar buildup. This can happen around those areas that you cannot reach with a brush, which emphasises the importance of flossing or using interdental brushes.
Next, they will perform a clean a polish to remove any surface stains on your tooth. Please note that this process isn’t teeth whitening and for any deeper stains on your teeth, this process will not remove them.
Sometimes your hygienist will use floss and an interdental brush to do a re-clean in between all the gaps of your teeth. Afterwards, your teeth, mouth and gums will feel super clean and fresh, so it’s something to look forward to on your next visit to the hygienist.
Before you leave, your hygienist will provide you with some helpful advice so you can maintain your new, clean teeth such as any areas of your mouth to target more carefully to avoid gum disease and tooth decay.
Your appointment will last around 30 minutes unless a more advanced cleaning is needed or further treatment is required.
The job of a dental hygienist
A dental hygienist’s job is to professionally clean teeth so they don’t carry out the same procedures as a dentist. Dental hygienists and dentists are both qualified and registered dental professionals but they do different jobs.
A dental hygienist’s main job is cleaning, scaling and polishing, whilst a dentist has a broader range of skills such as fillings and other treatments to restore the health of teeth and gums. A dental hygienist is there to help you maintain your oral health and to support you with any difficulties or questions you may have about dental hygiene.
How much is a dental hygiene clean?
The cost of a dental hygiene clean varies between an NHS dental practice, a private dental practice and what your dental hygiene appointment entails. At a private surgery, expect to pay around £30-£250; the lower end for a basic clean and the upper end for a more advanced clean, like periodontal cleaning. The most likely rate you will pay to see a dental hygienist at a private dental surgery is around £40-£60.
For NHS dental work, there are 3 bands of pricing so for a check-up and a follow-up, basic dental hygiene cleaning appointment, the cost at the moment is £25.80, but this price could increase at any time.
There are several reasons why you might choose to go private over the NHS, including shorter wait times, more patient-to-dentist time and better facilities and equipment (more information on this below).
The implications of poor dental hygiene
It might surprise you to know that poor dental hygiene can lead to complications
Oral health should be one of everyone’s top priorities because poor dental hygiene can make you ill and we aren’t just talking about gum disease.
Acne
Surprisingly, poor dental hygiene can lead to symptoms of acne and other skin conditions. When we don’t keep our teeth clean, bacteria thrive in our mouths as it’s a warm and wet environment that is ideal for bacteria to duplicate and spread. This bacteria can then spread onto our skin, causing irritation and infecting our pores, which can lead to pimples, redness, itching and other symptoms of skin irritability.
If you have spots concentrated around your mouth that won’t go despite other remedies to clear your skin, your dental health could well be the issue. Even if you brush your teeth, if you don’t visit the dental hygienist regularly for a check-up to clean your teeth of plaque, which can build up over time, this plaque can cause cavities and gingivitis, which may spread to your skin and cause spots to form around your mouth and chin.
Heart disease
Poor dental hygiene over time can lead to heart disease. Mouth infections cause inflammation in your dental pulp as your body is stimulated to produce white blood cells to fight the infections and contain the bacteria, however, when untreated, the infection can spread to other parts of your body.
Stomach problems
When we eat and drink, if our mouths are full of harmful bacteria, the food and drink wash the harmful bacteria into our digestive system, down our throats, into our stomachs and then pass through our bowels. This bacteria from our mouths that has been caused by poor dental hygiene, can then go on to cause stomach problems.
Cancer
Small studies have shown that in some cases, poor dental hygiene can lead to cancer of the mouth and oropharynx. It’s important to note that these studies are still only small, but if there is even a slight chance that poor dental hygiene can increase the risk of cancer, everyone should be taking the health of their mouth more seriously.
Practicing good dental hygiene
It is possible to fix poor dental hygiene and it’s never too late to pick up better habits.
It’s easy to practice good dental hygiene
Once you have made these positive changes to your routine, make sure you maintain your dental hygiene and regularly visit your dental and dental hygienist.
Choosing a dental hygiene surgery
Choosing the right dental hygiene surgery for you is important in making sure you get the right care and attention. We are Didsbury Dental Practice, a private Manchester dentist, open 24 hours for emergency appointments, dental hygiene appointments and so much more.
Many people experience better care with private dentists than with the NHS, just some of the benefits include:
- Flexible appointment times
- Wider access to dental specialists
- A more relaxed environment
- Better aftercare.
There are several differences between the NHS and private dentists but the main one is that some people are entitled to free dental care on the NHS, whereas with a private dentist, everyone pays for everything. However, the benefits of going private often outweigh the costs.
For your next hygiene appointment, contact us at Didsbury Dental Practice for flexible appointments, short wait times, a relaxed and friendly environment and excellent care. To find out how much a dental hygiene clean will be, contact us and we will be happy to help.
