Many people refer to dental hygienists as the ‘unsung heroes of dental care’. The role of the hygienist has grown more important over the last ten years to the point that now you would be hard pressed to find a dentist that doesn’t have one in their surgery.
The dental hygienist serves many purposes. Firstly, they lighten the load of the dentists meaning that the dentist can see more patients and spend more time treating dental problems than dealing with cleaning and routine oral care. This means the dentist is free to use his time to treat those in greater need of dental care and those of us lucky enough to just need the odd clean up can see the hygienist after a short check up.
The hygienist is specifically trained in the areas of dental cleaning and oral health. Although not qualified to carry out dental surgery, they are fully capable of conducting a thorough deep clean of your teeth and their role is even expanding to include the use of x-rays. Hygienists will use techniques such as scaling and polishing to remove tartar and make your teeth look and feel clean and healthy.
Hygienists are also able to draw up a cleaning plan as part of a preventative dental measure. This is the practice of doing all you can in tandem with your dentist to prevent any future dental complications. This often involves seeing the hygienist and sticking to a dental care routine. Don’t however make the mistake that the hygienist works independently of your Wirral dentist. They are closely linked and will discuss your teeth and together decided on the best course of action.