Dental Hygienist Spotlight: Why Routine Hygiene Appointments Are So Important

A simple issue like a dental cavity can take as little as two months to appear. If you’re not visiting the dentist regularly, these small issues could be missed, and you’ll be left dealing with the consequences. Through regular contact with your dentist, we can help to spot small issues before they become much more serious.

Your dental hygienist also plays an important role in caring for your teeth. Before you skip your next appointment, consider the following benefits to regular dental hygiene checkups.

What exactly does a dental hygienist do?

Dental hygienists are trained for a very specific role. They are concerned with oral hygiene and are often the first line of defence against gum disease. If you are referred for a scale and polish treatment, this will be carried out by a dental hygienist.

During this treatment, your dentist will thoroughly clean your teeth, and this goes beyond what you could achieve at home with a toothbrush. They might use special tools to scrape deposits from your teeth, or they might use Airflow cleaning, which uses a high pressure stream of air, water and fine particles to gently buff the teeth clean without directly touching your teeth.

This treatment helps to remove all traces of plaque and tartar from your teeth. Plaque is a sticky substance that hardens and becomes tartar, or calculus. Both substances provide a breeding ground for bacteria to hide. When this bacteria builds up, it attacks the gum tissue, leading to inflammation. And this is how gum disease occurs.

What happens if I don’t visit the hygienist?

If you skip appointments altogether, then you’re at risk of developing gum disease, but you are also missing out on some of the other benefits of these visits. First, you won’t enjoy the incredibly clean feeling you get following a hygiene cleaning. This treatment can help to freshen your breath and give you a fresh start.

You’ll also miss out on the personalised oral care advice. Your hygienist will be able to see the sections of your mouth that you are missing when you brush. If you don’t visit the hygienist, they won’t be able to help you to correct these mistakes.

Your hygienist visit is also a chance to ask questions about treatments in a low pressure environment. A lot of people find that they forget to ask questions at the dentist, so visiting the hygienist is a second chance to explore treatments.

Dental hygiene for nervous patients

Nervous patients in particular can benefit from hygienist visits. If you’ve been avoiding going to the dentist for a while, a hygienist appointment can help you to get back in the dentist’s chair without the pressure.

You’ll enjoy a relaxing cleaning that feels more like a spa treatment than a dental checkup. If there are any pressing issues, your hygienist can support you in booking a dental checkup. This extra level of support is often just the thing that the patient needs to feel comfortable and confident at the dentist again.

Final thoughts: why hygiene appointments are so important

Your dental hygienist is a key line of defence when it comes to caring for your teeth. As long as you are visiting the dentist every 6-12 months, you aren’t risking too much, but your oral health will thank you for making time to see the hygienist.