Clean Mouth

As well as regularly visiting your dentist, hygiene appointments should also be an essential part of your dental care. Hygienists are qualified members of the dental team who focus on preventing and treating gum disease by promoting good oral hygiene.

Regularly visiting a hygienist will not only help you maintain healthy teeth and gums, but also protect your overall well-being because poor gum health has been linked to more serious conditions such as heart disease, respiratory infections, diabetes and dementia.

What is gum disease?

When plaque and tartar build up on the surface of your teeth, it creates a perfect environment for bacteria to grow. This bacteria ends up infecting the gum tissue and causes it to become inflamed.

The symptoms of gum disease are:

• Inflammation
• Redness
• Bleeding after brushing
• Receding gums
• Bad breath
• Bright red or purplish gums
• Changes in the way your teeth fit together

The early stage of gum disease, also called gingivitis, can be missed as sometimes the symptoms are hard to spot. This stage is treatable however and a hygienist can stop it from progressing by removing plaque and tartar from the teeth.

If the gum tissue becomes infected, the condition becomes more serious and develops into periodontitis. This condition can only be treated and not cured. A hygienist or periodontist will need to see you regularly to stabilise your gum health. In this stage, your gums can start to recede and so cause your teeth to become loose.

What happens during a hygiene appointment?

During an appointment, the hygienist will assess the health of your gums and teeth and look for any signs of swelling, inflammation or bleeding. The hygienist may also take measurements where the gum attaches to the tooth and check for signs of oral cancer.

A hygienists’ role is to carry out the removal of any build-up of plaque and tartar. We use specially designed instruments to remove tartar from the tooth surface and underneath the gum line.

If gum disease has progressed beyond the early stages, a hygienist can remove tartar from the root surface to smooth the area and reduce inflammation of the gum tissue.

Hygienist treatment options

• Routine hygiene clean – from £55
• Diamond clean – airflow £95
• Healthy gums plan – £340 5 sessions

More info on the hygienist information sheet.

Airflow

We offer Airflow in our Hygiene appointments. Not only does AirFlow Stain Removal lift off stubborn stains that can’t be moved with routine brushing, it cleans away tartar and plaque from around the gum line. It is a non-intrusive method of cleaning and is known to be much more comfortable than the standard scaling away treatments.

Airflow works by using a fine jet of compressed air, water and fine powder particles to remove staining caused by coffee, tea, red wine, tobacco and some mouthwashes

Case Studies

Before and After

• Case Study 1