What do Hygienists and Therapists do? An Absolute Dental Guide

The role of your hygienist or therapist is a very diverse and multi-functional one. What we aim to achieve is really successful preventive dental care, minimising the need for dental treatment, supporting your existing dental work and ensuring confidence that you have a healthy mouth, fresh breath and a positive future for your mouth. 

It all comes down to three elements:

1.  Measuring your dental health by  identifying areas of health, periodontal disease, caries, and tooth wear and any lumps, bumps or inflammation around your mouth. 

2.  Monitoring your dental health by comparing the above information at every visit. Some of our more in depth recording eg periodontal pocket charts are done at different intervals in response to your level of gum health. These charts are a great way of identifying if there are any underlying medical conditions such as diabetes which may be undiagnosed. 

3.  Managing your dental health by working out the best skills, tools and techniques you need to remove plaque from every surface of every tooth every day!

There are also great benefits to your general health. Research shows that untreated or undiagnosed gum disease leads to an increased risk of heart disease and strokes. It also increases the risk of diabetes and plaque bacteria have been linked to arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, low birthweight and premature babies,  kidney disease and osteoporosis. This list is not exhaustive and it is one of the reasons we ask you about your general health when you attend for appointments. 

These conditions are further proof of why we  think that focusing on your dental health is so important. 

Whenever you visit one of our hygienists/therapists we need to find out what concerns you may have about your dental health or if you have noticed any changes to your mouth.  We know that the mouth is a very diverse  environment and change  happens due to any  number of different factors including everything from which toothpaste you are using to any changes in your general health including any medications you may be taking.   We know there are several factors that can influence what happens in your mouth and it is very important that  we can keep you safe and healthy whilst you are in our care. 

Outside the mouth  we are constantly looking for ways to  improve our services by taking part in continuing professional development such as courses and on line learning,  keeping you up to date through our blogs and Facebook contributions too.