DENTAL HYGIENIST
What is a dental hygienist?
A dental hygienist is a highly trained and licensed oral health professional who provides you with educational, clinical, and therapeutic services to enhance your oral and overall health. A dental hygienist uses her skills and knowledge to prevent, detect, and treat gum disease and tooth decay in her patients.
Hygienists receive intensive, specialized education and training that includes courses in chemistry, head and neck anatomy, physiology, microbiology, pathology, nutrition, pharmacology, advanced dental sciences, and dental hygiene. Prior to graduation, hygienists must complete hundreds of hours of supervised instruction in clinical practice.
Why is it important for you to see the hygienist?
The hygienist will thoroughly clean all surfaces of your teeth, removing plaque, tartar, and stains from above and below your gum line (the point where your teeth meet your gums). They will evaluate the health of your gums, and may be involved with the specialized treatment of advanced gum disease, which includes procedures such as scaling and root planing. Your hygienist will also teach you how to effectively care for your teeth at home to help you prevent decay and periodontal disease.
The hygienist may take dental x-rays so the dentist can view them and diagnose any problems. Your hygienist may also explain the relationship between your diet and dental health, offering suggestions about which foods to select and which to avoid. They may apply fluoride gels, show you how to select the proper toothbrush, and demonstrate the most effective techniques for brushing and flossing to help you maintain excellent oral hygiene.
So What Should You Expect from Your Dental Hygienist?
Registered dental hygienists can provide a wide range of services include the following:
- After assessing a patient’s individual oral health condition and incorporating the most current scientific research, including consideration of the impact of oral health on diseases such as heart disease and diabetes, dental hygienists plan a specific treatment plan designed to make sure each patient has the best oral health possible.
- Targeted and specific dental hygiene treatment for children, adolescents, adults, older adults, and patients who are medically compromised.
- Because targeted and specific systemic diseases like heart disease and diabetes, as well as other conditions, have signs and symptoms that appear in the mouth first, dental hygienists monitor for evidence of disease, and where they find suspicious conditions, inform the patient and recommend a visit to a physician.
- While assessing a patient’s overall health, they also look for problems such as caries (cavities) and periodontal (gum) disease.
- Dental hygienists perform thorough head and-neck examinations to look for oral cancer and other problems.
- To prevent and treat disease, they remove plaque (a stubborn film that contains bacteria), and calculus, both above and below the gum line.
- To prevent caries, dental hygienists provide nutrition counselling, apply fluorides or pit and-fissure sealants, and in some states, polish and contour fillings.
- Because dental hygienists specialise in preventive oral health care, they educate their patients, the community, and schools on oral health and its effect on overall health, as well provide dietary education and counselling.
- They expose, develop, and interpret oral X-rays.
- A hygienist can administer local anaesthesia and/or nitrous oxide.
- Dental hygienists also evaluate how their recommendations are working and, when necessary, revise treatment as it progresses to help patients achieve their oral health goals.
The dental hygienist is an excellent resource that can help you and your family keep your healthy smiles for a lifetime!
