Morning . Hygienist here . I agree , Private Dental treatment is too expensive for most as is other private medical treatment .
Just to answer a few of your questions. Most hygienists are educated to degree level , many also have a Masters .
Dental Hygienists are independent practitioners just like other medically trained professionals . We assess , diagnose and treat . If we make a mistake we can be held accountable up to the point of losing our registration . We pay hundreds to thousands of pounds a years for registration , indemnity and continued professional development as do Doctors , Dentists, therapists etc .
Your osteopath requires a room and a bed to treat you on . A hygienist works in a dental surgery which has vastly more specialist equipment which costs 100s of thousand to buy and thousands of pounds a day to run . She will likely have a nurse to assist .
If you really only need to have some plaque scraped off your teeth you don’t need a hygienist to do that for you, plaque is easily removed with the right tooth brushing technique and good daily interdental cleaning .
I suspect for an hour you need more intensive therapy , particularly if “ sides” have been mentioned . Your Hygienist may need to complete a detailed chart of your gum health , plaque and bleeding scores, administer local anesthetic and provide you with the right dental health advice to keep your mouth healthy . All this before even picking up an instrument .
Why all this ? Science has changed dentistry , as has technology as has the rise in medical litigation .
The cost of providing dentistry has rocketed in part to Covid and in part to the number of private equity backed corporations who now control a hefty chunk of the market .
Most Dental practices are not owned and run by individuals any more unlike other services such as physios , osteopaths etc .
It’s quite disheartening reading your post because as a profession I know the vast majority of hygienists are outstanding clinicians who are often under estimated for their skills and knowledge . The majority stay in the job because they love what they do . It’s a hard job to do. Many hygienists don’t even have time to pee , stay dehydrated sobloo breaks are not required . Never leave their room until lunch time . Catch up with admin at lunch / end of the day .
With regard to pay, a quick look on Indeed will confirm that you are correct and most of the money is not being paid to the hygienist . Most of us are self employed so no sick pay , holiday pay etc . We are not paid for our time when an appointment isn’t filled or a patient doesn’t turn up .