Preventive

A Dental Hygienist Specialises in cleaning and preventing diseases from taking hold. This will not only benefit your Oral Hygiene as recent studies have found a link between poor Oral Hygiene and conditions such as Heart Disease, Alzheimers and Diabetes.

What Can Your Hygienist Do?

Treatment of Gingivitis (Bleeding Gums)

Instructions to keep your mouth clean and prevent future disease.

Treating children by placing Fissure Seals in young children on permanent teeth to prevent decay.

Offering Diet advice which will be of benefit to your Oral and overall Health.

Remove unsightly staining from your teeth.

Give advice on Bad Breath.

If a patient presents with Bad Breath a thorough Examination is carried out. Scaling and Cleaning is carried out and the patient is instructed on Tooth Brushing Techniques, usage of Floss and Tepe Brush application. Areas of food stagnation such as decay are resolved and potential food trap areas such as Partially Erupted Wisdom Teeth are identified and solutions proposed.

Antiseptic Mouthwashes such as CB12 Listerine and Corsodol are useful.

We recognise that some people have sensitive teeth and cleaning can be an unpleasant experience. In this case using Hand Tools as opposed to the machine driven scaler makes all the difference. In certain cases a small amount of Local Anaesthetic (numbing) makes the world of difference.

In most cases the cause of Bad Breath emanates from the mouth. In a small percentage of cases the origin is from the stomach and your GP can be of assistance here.

Gum Disease known clinically as Gingivitis is an Inflammation of the gums as a result of Plaque Build Up which is soft and then turns to Calculus, a hard layer which cannot be removed by a tooth brush. It then necessitates a visit to a Dentist/Dental Hygienist. Patients may be aware of an uncomfortable feeling and or Bleeding as the plaque builds up.

Bleeding Gums often occurs in pregnancy due to Hormonal Changes. If the Calculus is not removed regularly it may progress to Periodontitis (Periodontal Disease) where the supporting structures of the soft tissues supporting the tooth break down and the teeth may become loose and have to be extracted.

Examination of the soft tissue, the tongue, palate, floor of the mouth and the skin on the inside of the cheeks as well as the lymph nodes is part of our Routine Examination of a patient.

As the mortality rate of Mouth Cancer is over 50% and there are over 2000 deaths in Ireland and the UK each year it is very important for this reason only to visit the Dentist regularly.