Dental Hygiene

Good gum health is essential if you want to maintain healthy teeth. Your hygienist is the person to help you avoid and treat gum disease so you can keep your natural teeth, restorations and implants for years to come.

Dental hygiene refers to the overall condition of your mouth. Good oral hygiene involves getting plaque and tartar removed from along and below your gum line, and only a hygienist or dentist can do this safely.

During your hygienist appointments, your hygienist uses special hand-scaling or ultrasonic instruments to do this.

Plaque and tartar removal to keep your mouth healthy: Plaque starts to form after you have cleaned your teeth. If you consume food and drink high in sugar and carbohydrates, this plaque can produce an acid that can de-mineralise your teeth, leading to cavities.

Whilst it’s possible to remove the majority of this when you brush and floss regularly and correctly, a small amount of plaque gets left behind each time. This hardened plaque (tartar) needs to be removed by a hygienist as it makes brushing and flossing harder. If the bacteria in plaque are left for a long time, it can begin to deteriorate your soft tissues and teeth.

Examination to check your gums are not inflamed or receding: Your hygienist carries out important checks to ensure your gums aren’t inflamed (a classic sign of gum disease) or receding. Gum disease erodes your gums and the bone holding in your teeth and implants bit by bit, compromising your teeth and making them more vulnerable to cavities and infections.

This is rarely something patients spot on their own at home, so coming in for routine check-ups is highly valuable for this reason.

Airflow® polishing for gentle stain removal: We offer Airflow® polishing for patients who have a lot of staining along their gum lines. This is a supplementary cleaning method that is highly efficient and gentle. We recommend it for patients who:

• May not have visited the hygienist in a while.
• Those that may have food, coffee or smoking stains.
• Have a heavy layer of plaque and tartar coating their teeth.

Gum disease and your general health: Good dental hygiene isn’t just important for maintaining good teeth and avoiding disease; it can help you avoid and prevent the worsening of chronic illnesses, including heart disease and diabetes.

Having plaque regularly removed from your gum line is an undertaking that prevents it from turning into periodontal disease, which can lead not only to tooth loss and infection but also to the worsening of a range of systemic diseases.

Tailored advice to improve your at-home routine: Our hygienists can offer non-judgemental tailored guidance to help you get the most out of your use of dental aids such as dental floss and brushes. They can also pick up on any dietary changes that need to be made based on the condition of your teeth and gums, thanks to their years of experience seeing how different diets affect different individual patients.

Why choose us?