What Is a Dental Hygiene Appointment?
Do you have a dental hygiene appointment coming up and you want to know what it entails? Or, maybe you’re interested in taking better care of your overall oral health. Well, you’re in the right place because we are experts in oral hygiene and we’re here to help put your mind at ease.
In this post, we will discuss general points to note about your dental hygiene, what a dental hygiene appointment is and we introduce ourselves at Didsbury Dental Practice.
Overall dental hygiene
Dental hygiene refers to the overall cleanliness and health of teeth and gums. It is so important to look after the health of your mouth because if you don’t, this can cause complications down the road and result in a loss of teeth, gum disease and other dental-related problems.
With just a few simple steps, you and your whole family can have healthy-looking gums and teeth so you can smile happily every day and show off those pearly whites.
Seeing a dentist should be part of your dental hygiene routine for check-ups or routine treatments. But, to reduce your chance of experiencing a dental emergency and putting yourself in a position where you need to see an out-of-hours dentist, good brushing, flossing and a healthy diet are all part of good dental hygiene.
But there’s more to looking after your teeth than brushing and flossing and this is where a dental hygienist comes in.
What is a dental hygienist?
A dental hygienist isn’t quite the same as a dentist. They don’t perform dental procedures such as fillings or tooth extractions so they can purely concentrate on the health of your teeth. A dental hygienist will clean your teeth and inform you of how to best look after them.
When you see a dental hygienist, they’ll usually perform a teeth cleaning, which involves scraping away the plaque from the gaps between your teeth. Plaque is a result of the bacteria in your mouth that sticks to your teeth. This is perfectly normal, however, it’s important to remove as much of it as possible as it contributes to tooth decay and the formation of cavities.
The difference between a dental check-up and a dental hygiene appointment
A dental check-up is a completely different appointment to a dental hygiene appointment. In both, your dentist will make sure you are as comfortable as possible and neither is anything to worry about. Each appointment has a different goal and in this section, we explain what those differences are.
Visiting the dentist
As we mentioned earlier, some people are frightened to visit their dentist and sometimes put it off. We’re here to tell you that you have nothing to be afraid of. If there is something in particular that you are worrying about, always speak to your dentist about it and they will put your mind at ease.
If you need to have a procedure done, your dentist can walk you through exactly what is going to happen and things that can do to make sure you are super comfortable. Even if you’re still a little wary, it is far better to see your dentist for a few minutes every so often and keep up with good dental care than have to visit your dentist for dental emergencies.
You should have a dental check-up around every 6 months but some people may not need to go as often. As a dental check-up, expect your dentist to ask you a few questions about your overall health, dental hygiene routine and if you have any concerns. They will then have a thorough look at your teeth, recommend any further treatment and send you on your way with some helpful advice.
Visiting the dental hygienist
A visit to the dental hygienist will be a little different than getting a check-up. Your hygienist will offer you a professional cleaning service and the process they use is called scaling and polishing.
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.
Didsbury Dental Practice: Why choose us?
We are Didsbury Dental Practice, a 24-hour dentist, regarded as one of Manchester’s premier dental facilities. We have a highly experienced team offering a range of treatments including emergency dentistry, dental implants, teeth whitening, restorative dentistry and orthodontics.
We are equipped with the latest state-of-the-art technology to create beautiful, healthy smiles in our tranquil surroundings, whilst delivering a level of patient comfort like no other dental practice. In addition, we are even an out-of-hours dentist for when you have a dental emergency.
Our team is pushing dental care and smile transformations to the next level, ensuring every patient is treated with the most sophisticated care and the best-customised treatment in a truly relaxed atmosphere. Furthermore, all of our staff are multi-lingual, speaking languages such as German, French, Polish, Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi.
Who choose private?
We are a private dental practice as opposed to an NHS-funded dental practice. More and more people are choosing to go private due to lengthy NHS waits, funding cuts and staff shortages. Aside from those, here we will explain the difference between NHS and private dentists and why you should consider choosing private.
NHS dental practices
All NHS dental practices have a fixed budget that they must work within and it usually comes with limitations. For example, most NHS dental practices have limited opening hours which are usually 9-5. Some people are entitled to free treatment such as children, people being treated in an NHS hospital, pregnant women or those on low-income benefits.
You can only get treatments on the NHS that are deemed necessary by your dentist for your oral health such as check-ups, x-rays, extractions and fillings. The NHS does not cover cosmetic dental treatments.
Private dental practices
At a private dental practice, you will pay for everything you receive regardless of your circumstances, but you will also have access to much more than you would at an NHS dental practice. Private dental practices can perform cosmetic treatments such as teeth whitening, veneers, orthodontics and composite bonding.
Here are some of the benefits you will experience by going private:
- Shorter wait times
- Better quality of care with state-of-the-art equipment due to a much higher budget
- Wider access to dental specialists
- More time with your dentist
- Better, more personalised aftercare
- A more relaxed waiting room environment with fewer people
- Quicker solutions to dental emergencies and treatment
- Greater appointment flexibility
- Quicker laboratory turn-around
- Payment plans
- Better customer service.
Now you know all about dental hygiene and what your dental hygiene appointment will entail, you can put your worries to one side and actually look forward to your appointment and walking out with shiny, clean teeth.
We would love to welcome you to our dental practice, so if you have any dental concerns, want to keep up with good dental hygiene or you ever experience a dental emergency, please contact us for an appointment and we will be happy to meet your needs.
