Oral Hygiene

Lisa is our Dental Hygienist in High Wycombe and she is fully qualified and experienced. Dental hygiene, also known as oral hygiene, is important in many respects, as it keeps the gums healthy and free of disease as well as reducing the need for fillings.

Many of our patients see the Hygienist every six months, and some patients see her as often as every 3 months. The dentist and hygienist will be able to advise you on how often to have a hygienist visit or you may decide to attend when you feel you do could with a visit because you need stain removal, or you are having close up photos taken!.

A dental hygienist can help you look after the health of your teeth and gums by advising you and showing you how to brush most effectively. She also shows you how to floss your teeth properly and use interdental and single tufted brushes where required. She will advise you on what type of toothbrush may be most appropriate for you to maintain healthy gums. She may demonstrate things using models, plaque disclosing tablets and audiovisual aids where appropriate, and will review your methods to make sure they are correct.

Flossing

Mouth Rinse

The hygienist will re-educate you where necessary, to try to help you keep your own teeth for life. She will records things like plaque and tartar deposits, bleeding and pocket depths where damage has already occurred due to periodontal (gum) disease. She may also carry out assessment of your diet and advise you about healthier eating.

Active treatment is carried out by scaling with an ultrasonic scaler and/or hand scalers to remove plaque and tartar deposits from your teeth, and polishing of your teeth with a polishing cup or brush and prophylactic paste. This will removed the staining from your teeth.

For very effective stain removal, please ask about Airflow stain removal. This technique utilizes a water and flavoured prophylactic powder pressure jet which will even remove the stains in grooves and behind the teeth.

Teeth tend to stain as a result of our habits and certain things like drinking tea, coffee, red wine and smoking tobacco can cause more staining.

Poor dental hygiene can also result in bad breath as a direct result of bacteria that are not being removed due to incorrect brushing and/or interdental cleaning.

Stained, discoloured teeth and bad breath in some cases can reduce confidence and may affect personal and working relationships, so it is a very important aspect of our overall well being.