Who said hygienist appointments were relaxing?

[Namechangedforthis25]

That person was talking rubbish

there was a tv with a beach and calming music, also had a pair of sunglasses

the lady said I should relax

I was expecting a spa treatment

I was missold, it hurt like hell on earth

I have that because of tooth crowding and not being able to reach some bits on the back of my bottom front teeth. Yes I imagine this is what water boarding must feel like but it’s quicker and I’m assuming more thorough than using the dental pic/scrapey thing.

I just suck it up and let my dentist get on with it.

@Namechangedforthis25 I will say that when I have this done the splashing of water on my face is like a low budget facial… maybe that’s what your hygienist meant 🤣💦

my husband said his appointment hurt

I told him he should try having a baby

i now partially take that back

maybe it was just my hygienist but I was wondering how they made that level of pain legal - you don’t pay anyone else to hurt you like that

400mg of Ibuprofen, taken 30 minutes beforehand, is your friend 😉.

Me! But I also enjoy an MRI 😀

My hygienist has a thing called airflow that uses warm water to scale and clean teeth. It's a private dentist but worth every penny to not have to endure the horrible painful scraping.

Some people do 🤫

No one ever said they were relaxing 😬

Do you both see the same hygienist? There's a few reasons why some people have the water (ultrasonic) and some people have manual hand scaling.
If you see different people it could just be operator preference. A lot of older trained hygienists were only trained with hand scalers as the ultrasonic wasn't around. I work with a woman who trained in the 80s. She will only ever use the ultrasonic in extreme cases. She does a excellent job with her hand scalers only as that's just how she was trained. I personally have no real preference. I enjoy the peace and quiet of hand scaling. But can see the benefits for some people of ultrasonic. If a patient has sensitive teeth I will happily hand scale though if they'd rather.
In some cases though when people have masses of tartar build up or staining if they want the job done quickly/more effectively then ultrasonic is the best way forward. If someone insists on hand scaling who has teeth totally covered in stuff then yes it can be done, but they may need to come back multiple times which then costs them more. It's often weighing up the pros and cons. As as others have mentioned there's also the option to be numbed up for scaling if required.
In your case, if it's only the bottom front that get very sensitive I'd ask if she can just only hand scale those at least. If it's a case the hygienist doesn't think she can get it all off in the appointment time slot she should let you know.
But I do think sometimes some hygienists just get so used to using the ultrasonic only that it's a default to be used even if it isn't essential. I will often just use it automatically unless a patient requests otherwise or I notice they seem to be very sensitive. So I think it's always worth asking.
Whether one is actually "better" than the other is up for debate. Everyone has an opinion. But studies generally show that if either option is done well, there is no difference in results. There are pros and cons on both. But both can achieve great results both cosmetically and regarding him disease treatment.
On a separate note, airflow treatment will not remove heavy tartar build up so this is not suitable for everyone as an alternative. It is best for soft plaque and staining.

Sorry that was longer than I thought!!

@Mukey thank you for your reply. That's helped. We do see different hygienists. I wonder whether I have the ultrasonic because my teeth are crooked at the bottom so maybe easier to use? But, given your explanation as to whether one is better than the other, I will ask for manual scaling for the bottom teeth at least. Thanks again. Sorry for derailing OP!