I was brought up knowing that every six months I visit the dentist for a checkup, and have continued to do so of my own volition into my adolescent years and have continued this good practice into adulthood and am now passing it onto my own children.
In my mid 20’s when my job required me to relocate, I immediately started searching for a new dentist. For the first time in my life I entered into the realms of Private dentistry. Not necessarily out of choice but out of necessity –there weren’t any NHS dentists local to me at the time.
12 years later I am still visiting the same practice - in fact after 6 years I ended up working for them!
So what’s different you may ask? Well, apart from the relaxing welcoming surroundings, apart from the smiles that greet you as you walk through the door, apart from the ability to get an appointment with whom you want, when you want, apart from the exemplary customer service consistently displayed…..?
The answer? A Dental Hygienist.
The hygienist carries out, to a wide range of patients, a routine scale and polish to remove any tartar build-up, plaque and staining. Appointments at College Street Dental Centre are for 30 minutes, but this may vary from practice to practice. As this is their focus, they have the time dedicated to you specifically for this task rather than a dentist squeezing in ‘a quick clean up’. For those that require it the hygienist can also undertake root surface
debridement and cleaning of dental implants.
Both manual and powered tools are used to ensure the best results are achieved. Seeing the hygienist is also about education –talking to the patient and understanding their habits, lifestyle choices and helping them to maintain and improve where necessary their oral hygiene routines.
Seeing an hygienist regularly, combined with brushing your teeth for two minutes twice a day and twice yearly visits to your dentist will help you to keep your teeth! Plaque and tartar that builds up through not brushing well enough or in between the teeth that you can’t get to easily needs to be professionally removed by a dental hygienist to minimise the chances of inflamed gums, or worse gum disease. If left completely untreated, you are at risk of losing your teeth.
If you don’t see a dental hygienist regularly you may not know that you are displaying early signs of gum disease and dental decay. Things to look out for are;
Bleeding gums
Plaque, tartar in between/behind the teeth
Yellow/brown pits on the enamel.
Take a look at some of our before and after pictures to see what results can be achieved.
For further information or advice contact College Street Dental Centre in Petersfield, Hampshire on 01730 263180
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