The team that cares for your dental health at Honest Teeth includes your hygienist. They are in charge of giving you preventive care so you can keep your mouth healthy. They offer a range of services, including as teeth cleaning and gum examinations, tartar and plaque removal, and instruction on good oral hygiene.
Your hygienist will clean your teeth with specific instruments, such as a scaler to get rid of plaque and tartar accumulation. To get rid of tartar and plaque in difficult-to-reach places, they might also employ an ultrasonic scaler. To polish their teeth and remove any leftover plaque, they can also use a polisher. Additionally, your hygienist will check your teeth and gums for decay, gum disease, or other oral health problems.
To obtain a better look at your teeth and gums, they could take x-rays. Additionally, sealants may be used to prevent tooth decay. Additionally, your hygienist could administer fluoride treatments to fortify your teeth and fend off cavities. When doing certain procedures, they might use local anesthetics to help with pain management and discomfort. In order to support oral health maintenance, they may also carry out additional preventive procedures like scaling and root planing.
What distinguishes a dentist from a dental hygienist?
A dental hygienist has received unique training to focus only on oral health care. They have received in-depth training in understanding how and why your teeth and gums could become unhealthy, recognizing the early warning signs of gum disease, helping you change habits that might hasten the development of gum disease, and treating any gum disease.
The dentist, on the other hand, will take care of any decay, help with restoring damaged teeth, replace missing teeth, straighten crooked teeth, and have a deeper understanding of the anatomy surrounding your head, face, and neck, making it possible for them to spot the early warning signs of oral cancer as well as bite issues that can result in headaches and neck pain.
Therefore, going to a hygienist keeps costs down because the dentist has to do it themselves. It also assures that you see someone properly qualified to help you with your dental health. During an appointment, your dentist will need assistance from a hygienist; increasing the appointment duration to accommodate the dentist will raise your expense.
It is typical to have a fast follow-up appointment with the dentist and hygienist each six months. Both a typical dental hygiene appointment and a standard dental health checkup with your dentist last 30 minutes on average. Several offices offer dental membership programs to help spread the cost of these appointments over a longer period of time during the year.
What are a scale and polish?
The teeth will be polished, cleaned, and flossed following the removal of calculus. This is the idiom for removing calculus (scale) from your teeth and polishing them to make it harder for the calculus to reattach. Scale and Polish, however, need to be more direct in what they do. Your hygienist will inspect each tooth and the gum tissue that surrounds it, as well as your eating and cleaning routines, to identify why calculus has built up in particular areas. Then you'll offer suggestions for how to avoid this in the future.
How frequently should a person visit a dentist and a hygienist?
In order to restore the health of your teeth and gums if it has been a while since your previous appointment with the dentist or hygienist, you may need to set up more frequent visits. A monthly trip to the hygienist may be required for three to four months to achieve this. Once your dental health is in a good place, routine biannual visits to the dentist and hygienist are encouraged.
What tools do dentists and dental hygienists use to wash their teeth?
To ensure you receive the finest care possible, the majority of dentists make considerable investments in technology and equipment. Many dentists use an ultrasonic scaler, which is a great piece of equipment. This makes use of ultrasound waves that are directed towards the dental calculus at the tip of a probe that is connected to an ultrasound equipment. Your teeth's calculus is rapidly, painlessly, and comfortably removed using high-frequency ultrasound. This instrument allows your hygienist to clean your teeth more quickly than with just hand-held tools.
In addition to the ultrasonic machine, your hygienist will utilize a range of hand tools to clean the narrow crevices in between your teeth. Reaching the back of your mouth with a toothbrush might be difficult because calculus can quickly accumulate there between the last teeth. Cleaning in these areas and removing the calculus could be challenging, especially if the teeth are significantly out of alignment.
Last word
The team that cares for your dental health includes your hygienist. Additionally, your hygienist will educate you on good oral hygiene practices. They might talk about the value of routine tooth brushing and flossing as well as the advantages of mouthwash. They might also provide advice on selecting the best toothpaste and toothbrush.
You can contribute to maintaining the health of your teeth and gums by scheduling routine visits with your hygienist at Honest Teeth. They offer a range of services to assist you in keeping your mouth healthy. Additionally, they could apply sealants, take x-rays, and carry out other preventative procedures. Book your appointment today!