Darling DentalOur hygienists are an integral part of our dental team. They work closely with dentists to help you keep the support structures of your teeth healthy. We view hygiene therapy as the solid foundation of dental treatment. Afterall, it’s your gums and the bone surrounding your teeth that hold them in!
Although we know that most of our patients brush twice a day, we can see that most patients have never been shown how to brush in the best way. We find especially that, when a patient shifts from a manual toothbrush to an electric, they don’t realise that the brushing technique is completely different! It’s the same with flossing. Lots of patients aren’t quite sure if they are doing it right.
This means, there’s plaque that gets missed. This plaque sits at the gum line and builds up in between the teeth. Over time, it hardens and sticks to the tooth (tartar) and can’t be removed with your toothbrush. Plaque and tartar harbour bacteria that sit against the gum and cause an inflammation reaction. We call this gingivitis. People with gingivitis often complain of bleeding gums.
If gingivitis is left untreated, the inflammation can travel deeper, down in between the gum and the tooth resulting in bone loss and the loosening of the gum from the tooth. We call this periodontitis. People with periodontitis often complain of bad breath, bleeding or red gums, black marks around their teeth, and sometimes pain. Teeth with advanced periodontitis can feel loose and can fall out or need extraction.
Hygiene therapy aims to reduce the volume of plaque bacteria in your mouth so that inflammation can have a chance to resolve. Hygienists do this by removing the plaque and tartar build up from your teeth that can’t be removed by brushing or flossing alone.
We are very fortunate to have two very experienced hygienists at Darling Dental. They work with the dentists to assess the health of your gums and tailor a hygiene therapy plan suited to your situation. If our hygienists think your treatment might be sensitive, they may suggest numbing with a gel or with local anaesthetic. Our hygienists will also plan an individual recall system with you as part of your maintenance programme.
As well as treating gum disease they also carry out a screening of your oral mucosa (the skin of your mouth) at every visit and of course, will make sure you know how to clean your teeth, so that the inflammation can be kept under control.
Although we know that most of our patients brush twice a day, we can see that most patients have never been shown how to brush in the best way. We find especially that, when a patient shifts from a manual toothbrush to an electric, they don’t realise that the brushing technique is completely different! It’s the same with flossing. Lots of patients aren’t quite sure if they are doing it right.
This means, there’s plaque that gets missed. This plaque sits at the gum line and builds up in between the teeth. Over time, it hardens and sticks to the tooth (tartar) and can’t be removed with your toothbrush. Plaque and tartar harbour bacteria that sit against the gum and cause an inflammation reaction. We call this gingivitis. People with gingivitis often complain of bleeding gums.
If gingivitis is left untreated, the inflammation can travel deeper, down in between the gum and the tooth resulting in bone loss and the loosening of the gum from the tooth. We call this periodontitis. People with periodontitis often complain of bad breath, bleeding or red gums, black marks around their teeth, and sometimes pain. Teeth with advanced periodontitis can feel loose and can fall out or need extraction.
Hygiene therapy aims to reduce the volume of plaque bacteria in your mouth so that inflammation can have a chance to resolve. Hygienists do this by removing the plaque and tartar build up from your teeth that can’t be removed by brushing or flossing alone.
We are very fortunate to have two very experienced hygienists at Darling Dental. They work with the dentists to assess the health of your gums and tailor a hygiene therapy plan suited to your situation. If our hygienists think your treatment might be sensitive, they may suggest numbing with a gel or with local anaesthetic. Our hygienists will also plan an individual recall system with you as part of your maintenance programme.
As well as treating gum disease they also carry out a screening of your oral mucosa (the skin of your mouth) at every visit and of course, will make sure you know how to clean your teeth, so that the inflammation can be kept under control.