11 Reasons to Visit a Dental Hygienist

We all know that we need to visit the dentist often. Visiting us twice a year for that all-important checkup isn’t all you should do, though. Regularly visiting the hygienist is also essential if you want to keep your teeth and gums healthy. 

In your busy life, it’s easy to let your dental health take a back seat. Often, we ignore our teeth until something goes wrong. Taking the time to make an appointment with our hygienist will help reduce the risk of dental issues arising. 

So, what can you expect from a visit to our hygienist? And, why should you make an appointment? 

Here are 11 great reasons to come and see our dental hygiene team for a regular professional clean. 

1. For a Brighter, Healthier-Looking Smile

Brushing your teeth is an essential part of your oral hygiene routine; however, there are limits to the abilities of even the best toothbrushes. A professional clean from a hygienist goes deeper, leaving your teeth looking and feeling brighter and healthier than ever. 

2. To Remove Tartar From Hard-to-Reach Areas

Naturally occurring bacteria in our mouths feed on sugar and starch. As they do so, they mix with saliva and debris in the mouth to form plaque. Plaque is a clear, sticky substance that coats your teeth and gums. 

Plaque is generally easily removed through routine brushing and flossing. Problems occur when brushing isn’t thorough. If you miss areas of your teeth, like along the gum line or at the back of your mouth, this plaque will harden. 

As plaque hardens, it becomes tartar. Tartar isn’t easy to remove. This yellowy-brown coating binds to your teeth, and brushing won’t make it disappear. Tartar will damage your teeth and impact the appearance of your smile. The best way to remove tartar is by visiting a hygienist. 

We’ll use Prophyflex, a tool that combines jets of air, water, and carbonated particles to remove tartar. This simple but highly effective treatment will leave your smile tartar-free. 

3. For Whiter Teeth

Food, drinks, cigarette smoke, and poor brushing can leave your smile looking lacklustre. If you have extrinsic stains on the outer layer of your teeth, our hygienist can help. 

A professional clean is leagues better than even the best electric toothbrush can achieve. We’ll thoroughly clean your teeth, leaving them looking whiter. 

4. To Prevent Tooth Decay

Left to its own devices, embedded tartar will erode the enamel of your teeth and cavities will form. 

Using Prophyflex, we’ll remove tartar and give you a helping hand in the fight against cavities.

5. To Keep Gum Disease at Bay

When talking about our oral health, it’s easy to focus all of our attention on our teeth; after all, they are the most visible aspect of our smiles. But our gums serve an essential function. They protect the roots of our teeth and stop bacteria from damaging the roots. 

Like our teeth, bacteria can harm our gums. Gum disease can cause bleeding, inflammation, redness, and bad breath. But, if you ignore these milder symptoms, your gum disease could get worse, leading to the formation of pockets of infection around the teeth. Your teeth will fall out, and your jaw could deteriorate. 

While regular brushing will help you fight gum disease, a hygiene appointment will give you the upper hand. Many of the symptoms of gum disease go unnoticed, but our hygienist will spot them during your deep professional clean. 

6. For the Confidence Boost

A brighter, whiter, healthier-looking smile can help you feel good about yourself. When your teeth look dull and yellow, you might not want to smile. Feeling self-conscious about your appearance can make you hold back in certain situations. 

A deep clean from our hygienist will go a long way in helping you feel better about your smile. 

7. To Spot the Early Signs of Oral Cancer

Visiting the hygienist isn’t just about the deep clean you’ll receive. While you’re in the clinic, our hygienist will talk to you about your oral health in general and will be looking at your mouth as they clean. 

Although they may not have the expertise of a dentist, if there are any causes for concern, a hygienist could potentially spot the signs of a serious issue, like oral cancer, early. 

8. To Help You Keep Your Natural Teeth 

Although we talk about your beautiful, life-like crowns and bridges often enough, we’d prefer you to keep your natural teeth. The care and attention offered by our hygienist will go a long way in helping you look after those natural teeth. This will help prevent health issues that could compromise their integrity. 

9. To Help You Quit Smoking

We all know smoking comes with severe health risks, but it’s hard to kick the habit. Even if you’ve smoked heavily for years, there are ways to quit. Our hygienist can provide support, advice, and signposting to help you stub out your last cigarette. 

10. For Fresher Breath

A full dental clean leads to fresher breath. Even with an excellent brushing technique, problems could lurk at the back of your mouth, as well as between and behind your teeth. 

By removing tartar and cleaning the parts of your mouth that often get missed, we’ll eliminate unwelcome odours, leaving your breath smelling much healthier. 

11. To Learn Healthy Oral Care Techniques

You learn to brush your teeth when you are very young and do it daily for years. During that time, it’s easy to start cutting corners and pick up bad habits. We can help you improve your brushing techniques. 

We can also provide advice on products and changes to your lifestyle that could benefit your smile. 

Dental Hygiene at Love Teeth

Hygiene is at the core of good dental care. To help you maintain the best standards possible, we offer a full hygiene service at our Love Teeth clinics in Cheam, Chessington, Stonecot, Sutton, and Worcester Park. 

Call us today to schedule your next visit.