Dental Hygienists - are they really necessary?

[morningpaper]

Dental Hygienists - I'm sure we didn't have these when we were children! Are they REALLY necessary? And if so, why do you have to pay to see them?

Are they basically there for cosmetic issues? I thought part of the joy of being British was that it was acceptable to have yellow teeth. Why is this changing?!

I LOVE going to the hygienist - all that digging and scraping - my mouth feels wonderful afterwards.

I went last month and she did'nt do anything different to my normal dentist.

I hate going. It's all the poking and scraping that I can't stand. That polisher thing seems to heat your teeth up arrgh! The most painful part though is the paying afterwards.

I agree MP, no way were we expected to keep seeing hygienists as kids.

The other thing is I think they are good for healthy mouths. I've been using Teepee's - started with the pink ones for not a lot of space between but I've moved up a size for some teeth and 2 sizes on others which means my gums are healthier.

Teepees, JT?

Dental hygienists don't just make your teeth whiter, they clean all the areas in the mouth above & below the gumline. They apply fissure sealants to children's teeth & much more.

When we don't floss/ brush correctly plaque builds up on the visible & non visable surfaces of our teeth. If it isn't brushed off it starts to harden, turning into calculus. This can't be removed by brushing alone, you need specialist instruments to be able to remove it. It can be a time consuming job & many dentists are too busy to do it, hence they employ a hygienist. She will remove calculus, plaque etc & advise on oral hygiene, she is a professional dedicated to keeping our gums & teeth in tip top condition.

If the calculus goes untreated, you can develope severe periodontitus (inflammation of the gums) and this can lead to you losing your teeth. So yes, I do think dental hygenists are necassary.

Tha cost generally depends on the area you live in, NHS or private. NHS I think (been a long time since I did NHD dentistry) is approx £10.00 for a 10-15 min visit, Privately you can pay upto & beyond £200.00 for intensive treatment.

And children don't generally need to see a hygenist, unless they need fissure sealants or have particularly bad oral hygiene!

I have worked with a dental hygenist who has been in the job for 40 odd years, so they have been around for a while.

Sorry...should have added that the NHS don't fund hygiene visits for children for "maintenance visits" (sp) in England, not sure if they do in Scotland etc.