Hygiene is our favourite treatment! Because it helps the patients keep their teeth for longer, keep them looking great for longer, and need less complex dentistry!
Think of your gums as the foundation for your teeth – without this foundation, complications like gum disease can occur and jeopardize your oral health. Dental hygiene appointments play a preventative and educational part in keeping gum disease at bay and involve cleaning your teeth to remove layers of bacteria and tartar build up that can’t be removed at home.
Your hygiene appointments will be tailored to your needs as no two patients are the same. We may ask you to visit us more or less regularly than once a year, depending on the health of your gums and how susceptible you are to gum disease. Our treatments are provided by either one of our dentists, or our specialised hygienist.
In addition to your necessary hygiene appointments, we also offer Air Flow Treatment. Stains from daily guilty pleasures such as coffee, tea, red wine and smoking can be persistent and impossible to remove at home. If you are concerned about having stained teeth, talk to one of our dental professionals and be prepared to be amazed with the results!
What is gum disease?
Gum disease, or periodontal disease, is one of the world’s most common diseases, and it affects the majority of adults in their lifetime.
As gum disease is generally painless, you may not even be aware that you have it, which is why it is so important to attend regular dental and hygiene appointments.
Gum disease targets the tissues around your teeth. At its initial stages, it causes inflammation of the gums. At this stage, it is completely reversible and is known as gingivitis.
Although most individuals suffer from gum inflammation from time to time, around 10% of the population appear to suffer from the more severe forms of the disease, called periodontitis. In those cases the disease affects not only the soft tissues around the teeth but also the bone.
In its final stages, gum disease can cause tooth loss, and it is, in fact, the number 1 cause of tooth loss in the UK.
Unfortunately, when in advanced stages, gum disease is not reversible. However, with the appropriate treatment and oral hygiene regime, we can stabilise it, prevent further deterioration and help you keep your teeth for longer.
What are the signs?
The main signs of gum disease are:
- Red and swollen gums
- Bleeding
- Bad breath
- Receding gums
- Teeth mobility
What causes it?
The main cause of gum disease is a build up of bacteria (plaque). If plaque is not regularly removed with daily brushing, then this can cause gum disease. However, not everyone will necessarily get advanced forms of gum disease.
There are 4 major contributing factors which are thought to be responsible, along with plaque build up:
- Family history
- Stress
- Certain health conditions, such as diabetes
- Smoking
These factors cannot cause gum disease on their own, as plaque has to be present, but they can accelerate or aggravate the development of the disease.
Gum disease has also been shown to be a potential cause of certain serious heart infections, making it even more important to prevent and treat it.
How can we help?
If you have gum disease, we will put you on a special 3-month review program in order to deeply clean the affected areas regularly, tailor your “at home regime”, reinforce good oral hygiene habits and monitor the treatment progress. In more advanced cases, we could also perform a LASER disinfection procedure which would promote the healing and self repair of the affected areas.
This approach often halts gum disease, but if we see that it doesn’t, we will take appropriate measures and discuss with you about referring you to a specialist.
If you think you are suffering from gum disease, contact us in order to book a consultation with one of our dentists.
If you are worried about this treatment, or if you suffer from sensitive teeth, please mention this to us and we will try our best to minimise the discomfort with local anaesthetic and spread the treatment over more visits.
Why should I visit a hygienist?
Keeping the plaque away is a vital part of keeping your gums and teeth healthy and prevent tooth loss. Although the first stages of plaque formation can be easily removed by yourself with your daily brushing, left over plaque soon becomes harder and attached to your teeth. At this stage, it is called tartar and it is impossible to remove it at home with your toothbrush. Regular visits to the hygienist will ensure that all the unwanted and harmful plaque and tartar is removed.
During your dental examination, the dentist will record the level of your gums’ health and advise you on the type of treatment you need. Although this treatment can be done by the dentist, there are several benefits of seeing a hygieniest instead.
- A hygienist appointment will be considerably longer
- Hygienists are specially trained and vastly experienced in providing hygiene services
- You will receive oral hygiene instructions that will be tailored to your needs and your abilities.
- You will receive diet advice to help you tackle with gum and teeth problems
- Combined with Air Flow treatment, the hygienist helps you maintain a brighter and whiter smile by waving goodbye to those persistent stains on your teeth!
What is Air Flow Treatment?
Air Flow is a type of stain removal which is much more effective than the traditional stain removal with an ultra sonic scaler. Due to the use of special powder particles, Air Flow is able to remove even the most persistent stains between your teeth, areas where traditional stain removal cannot reach.
Air Flow works on plaque free surfaces, so a scale and polish needs to be done beforehand and it is always included in the price!
Any type of stain removal is different to teeth whitening. As the name suggests, stain removal only removes the stains from the daily use of coffee, tea, red wine, smoking and other stain causes, giving you back your natural colour of your teeth. If you would like your teeth to be brighter and whiter than your natural colour, then you will need to discuss with your dentist about teeth whitening procedures.
