Dental Hygienist in Manchester at Your Smile Clinic

Depending on your gum health, we normally recommend seeing a dental hygienist either every 3 or 6 months. If you have have active gum disease or a history of gum disease you will usually need to see the dental hygienist regularly every 3 months.

Scaling and polishing is generally pain-free and the hygienist will do everything they can to make the treatment as comfortable as possible. Some people have sensitive teeth and can feel some discomfort. If you have not seen a dental hygienist for a long time, or you have gum disease, your gums may be very inflamed and tender which can make seeing the hygienist uncomfortable at the initial visit. However as your gums heal and inflammation reduces, it is usually not uncomfortable. If you do experience any discomfort, the hygienist can offer to use a local anaesthetic to counteract this.

At your first hygienist appointment, which we call our initial hygienist visit, you will meet your dental therapist / hygienist. They will talk you to you about your current dental health and home oral hygiene routine. Your gums will be screened for gum disease and the hygienist will assess your level of inflammation.

A special dye will be used on your teeth to dye any plaque on your teeth and then take photos. Using these photos, they will show you the areas that you are commonly missing when brushing.

The dental hygienist will then remove the soft plaque deposits and hard calculus deposits using an ultrasonic scaler which vibrates the plaque and calculus away from the surfaces of your teeth. There will be lots of water which the dental nurse will suction up. You will be given a professional polish to remove surface staining and keep your teeth feeling smooth. This polish is not designed to remove very old or tough stains, and you may require additional visits or alternative treatments such as an airflow polish this.

Finally you will receive tailored advice on how to look after your oral health, as well as product recommendations. The hygienist will advise you on when you return for maintenance cleaning.

At Your Smile Clinic, we offer direct access hygienist appointments, which means you can book in directly with a dental hygienist without seeing a dentist first.

Dental hygienists and dental therapists can carry out their full scope of practice without prescription and without the patient having to see a dentist first. The only exception to this is teeth whitening, which must still be carried out on prescription from a dentist.