Dental Hygienists

[Oldred_V8S]

Anyone here use one?

I was wondering what they give over and above what a normal dentist does as part of a clean and scrape?

What sort of price is the norm for whatever it is they do?

[philmh]

£35 for a 10 minute clean, after the 2nd i changed dentist and haven't been referred to one since. Money making racket, IMO of course.

[SteveSteveson]

They clean your teeth, check your gums and give advice. A good hygienist will be able to get your teeth much cleaner than a dentist (due to time), give you a proper scale and polish and check your gums for any swelling or other problems. They will also give advice on how to correct these problems through correct brushing, flossing etc.

They can also do things like fissure sealant and help with sensitive teeth.

IMO well worth it. I think mine is about £50. It takes half an hour and is well worth it. They can spend much more time on you and your teeth end up very clean.

[mu0n]

It's about 50 quid where I am too but I think it's worth it. They remove a lot of plaque (more than you think is there) and your teeth definitely feel a lot cleaner after than you could manage yourself.

Worth it IMO.

[Schermerhorn]

Teeth can feel VERY sensitive afterwards though, especially to cold drink.

[hollydog]

I do it myself. Saves all that pain when the hygienist does it. Bought the hygienist kit off ebay. And I keep on top of it that stop the buildup of plaque. This reduced my visits from once a year to ,well the last time I needed a hygienist was 6 years ago. Makes my smile when I have the 6 monthly check up and the dentist says have you just had your teeth cleaned.lol

[-Z-]

At a basic level they have time..... If your dentist took 30mins for every clean you'd have no time left for fillings/check ups etc.

I give mine 30mins with every patient.

Apart from that they can give much more of a cosmetic clean as well as this is not detrimental to health not technically covered by the NHS.

Also useful for actual periodontal disease though - deep cleaning for this on the NHS is £49, 30mins with the hygienist is £47, if it is a money making racket it is quite a rubbish one