How bad is a visit to a dental hygienist.

[eaglesreach]

ive heard it's really painful, I'm a bit of a coward, Can anyone reassure me and is it a lot more bearable to have the gums frozen?

My hygienist charges £44 a session , I have gum problems and a problem with my tooth bone so go every 3 months and it can be quite painful .

I had a sadist once which was hideous and I nearly cried from the pain and her nastiness, but mostly hygienists are lovely and it's fine.

I had a clean today - my teeth and gums are ridiculously sensitive and I think of it as torture treatment where I grip the seat so hard my arms ache for an hour after. I am very jealous of those who breeze through this process.....

A deep clean under the gum margins can be very uncomfortable but you can ask for a local anaesthetic gel which helps hugely ime. A routine scale and polish is awkward rather than painful.

I need to get mine cleaned in two weeks time. Just from the normal dentist and I'm having panic attacks thinking about it.

I have an exposed root on one of my teeth and fuck me it hurts like crazy when he cleans it. All the others hurt as well and they haven't receded.

I feel sick at the thought of it already. Sometimes he takes pity on me and do a real quick clean but last time the receded one needed a better clean and I wanted to hit him while he was doing it.

I have had a deep clean before and I got numbed up for that.

DH breezes through his.

I'm really not liking the sound of it. For two pins I'd cancel it but I don't want to lose my teeth. I'm asking for the numbing gel though.

Had mine done today! No pain & they now feel amazing.

Did you have them numbed Agatha?

No... It was fine. She told me exactly what she was going to do. She even let me hold a mirror so I could see what she was doing.

She used a tiny water jet to blitz off all the plaque etc. That took about 10 mins and she stopped regularly. Then she scraped a bit more off, then she polished them.

The a rinse and that was it. Absolutely zero pain I promise. My 4yo DC came with to have a play in the chair so it was fine.

I am a hygienist just to be clear we have 0 say in the charges to the patient it's always always always set by the principal dentist or is NHS fees set by the government
It's our job to discuss your oral hygiene routine - we are here to help you help yourself after all they are your teeth and your responsibility so please don't be offended by that conversation.
Yes we can make you numb should that be necessary .

It's usually best to be honest and say if you feel nervous or have sensitive teeth It's better to know beforehand
And if possible come and see us regularly to build a confident relationship with us
We are here to help

Ask for an injection to numb you s d it's fine. If you don't like the injections, take an ibuprofen an hour before.

Gosh, why have I never thought about taking ibuprofen before I go??

Would it be ok to take the ibuprofen and have the numbing injection as well?

Do hygienists judge a patient for the state of their teeth? I've got a lot of plague on my teeth.

I've got an appointment soon to see a hygienest after neglecting my teeth for a few years.

Stupidly I've put off going for a while as I'm shit scared I'll be told my teeth are going to fall out (my teeth are fine but my gums don't seem to be).

Sorry for hijack OP.

I think it's would be OK to take both OP but you could always ring the surgery and double check?

No informal we don't judge anybody
We are here to help

No pain at all. Just uncomfortable to have your mouth open for so long.
Dont worry about it or you will stress.
Just go and see and if you find it painful let them know.

I wouldnt take any tablets though... i am pretty sure they dont recommend that as it can thin your blood or other stuff

Maybe ring and ask?

Maybe ring and ask? If you can take tablets