Plenty of people think of a hygiene appointment as a polish: nice to have, a bit like having the car valeted. It is worth knowing what the twenty minutes are really for, because it is not mainly about how your teeth look.
The problem it is aimed at
For adults, one of the most common reasons for losing teeth is not decay. It is gum disease: plaque and hardened tartar sit along and under the gum line, the gums become inflamed and pull away, and the bone holding the teeth in place is slowly lost.
It is usually painless. The early signs are gums that bleed when you brush and breath that is not quite right. Many people have it for years without knowing, which is exactly why it is worth someone looking.
What happens in the appointment
Marie Colbert, who runs our hygiene programme, describes a typical visit like this:
- A look at your gums, including measuring the small pockets between gum and tooth. This is how we notice changes long before you would.
- Removing tartar from above and just below the gum line. Once tartar has hardened it cannot be brushed off, however good your brushing.
- Cleaning away surface staining, which is the part that feels like a polish.
- A few minutes on your routine at home, looking at where plaque is being missed. For most people it is the inside of the bottom front teeth and the backs of the last molars.
If you find scaling uncomfortable, say so at the start. We can numb the gums, go more slowly or split the work over two visits.
Why every six months
Tartar builds up again at a fairly steady rate, and gum problems are easiest to reverse early. Six months is a sensible default for most adults. Some people need to come more often, including smokers, people with diabetes and anyone whose gums were a problem last time. A few people with very healthy gums can come less often, and we will tell you if you are one of them rather than booking you in out of habit.
A plan you can actually follow
The part of the appointment we care about most is the end. A clean mouth lasts a few weeks; a routine that works lasts decades. So instead of a list of ten instructions, you leave with one or two changes, usually about interdental brushes or where you aim your toothbrush, and next time we check how they went.
Hygiene appointments are included in our monthly plan, alongside check-ups, if you would rather spread the cost. Ask reception for the current price.
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