Dental Hygiene

The hectic pace of today's adult lifestyle often leaves little time for the daily oral health care routine needed to prevent cavities and periodontal disease. This is unfortunate since periodontal disease is the most common cause of tooth loss in adults. An estimated 75% of Americans reportedly have some form of periodontal disease.
Early detection of periodontal disease reduces the risk of permanent damage to teeth and gums and can prevent more extensive and costly treatment in later years. Regular professional visits, every six months or as scheduled by your dental hygienist, will help you learn more about proper care for your teeth and gums. Regular professional visits are important because gingivitis, the early stage of periodontal disease, is usually painless; you may not be able to detect it on your own.

What to Expect

Registered dental hygienists can provide a wide range of services. These services include the following:

• After assessing a patient’s individual oral health condition and incorporating the most current scientific research, including consideration of the impact of oral health on diseases such as heart disease and diabetes, dental hygienists plan a specific treatment plan designed to make sure each patient has the best oral health possible.

• Targeted and specific dental hygiene treatment for children, adolescents, adults, older adults, and patients who are medically compromised. systemic diseases like heart disease and diabetes, as well as other conditions, have signs and symptoms that appear in the mouth first, dental hygienists monitor for evidence of disease, and where they find suspicious conditions, inform the patient and recommend a visit to a physician.

• While assessing a patient’s overall health, they also look for problems such as caries (cavities) and periodontal (gum) disease.

• To prevent and treat disease, they remove plaque (a stubborn film that contains bacteria), and calculus, both above and below the gum line.

• Because dental hygienists specialize in preventive oral health care, they educate their patients, the community, and schools on oral health and its effect on overall health, as well provide dietary education and counselling.

• They expose, develop, and interpret oral X-rays.

• Dental hygienists also evaluate how their recommendations are working and, when necessary, revise treatment as it progresses to help patients achieve their oral health goals.