Feels like a silly question to be asking in my mid-forties but what does a dental hygienist do in practice? I don't have any tartar, my gums don't bleed and they aren't receding significantly, so the 45 minute appointment I've just made seems like a long time to sit in that chair.
The background is that I'm due to get a dental implant for a missing tooth in the near future and my new dentist has recommended seeing the hygienist before the implant clinic appointments. It all sounds very sensible to make sure everything is as clean as possible above and below the gum-line before a minor oral surgery. But I'm still puzzling over what they can do for 45 minutes...
I had so many other questions about X-rays, bridges, implants etc.. during my last dentist appointment that I forgot to ask this one slightly dumb question and I also feel a bit daft ringing back now and asking it in real life before my hygienist slot next week.
I've never been referred to a hygienist previously. This is probably partly because I've moved around for work and generally only been with one dental practice long enough to sort out whatever was most urgent with my set of lovely 80s/90s amalgam fillings at the time. I'm guessing it's also because I've never had any tartar to scrape off and that seems to be the main thing happening in online or TV descriptions.