what does a hygienist do??

df1985

my dentist has recommended me to see a hygienist in 3 months time but ive no clue as to what it entails. in the past 12 months my teeth had a lot of work. i had let them go to hell, never went to the dentist because of a serious phobia.

my gums had become very sensitive, bleeding easily. anyways, my gums have dramatically improved, they dont bleed and if they do its only from vigorous flossing, so im wondering do i really need to go to the hygienist.i dont have prsi (unemployed) and i dont have a medical card. ive spent enough money in the last 12 months and 90 euros to be told how to clean my teeth or to have her do it for me seems extortionate?

bifl

Just back from one this minute. This is only my third visit, I now go every six months. Again, same as you it was suggested by a dentist. Historically nothing ever wrong with my teeth bar an odd filling or two and lucky enough to never even had a tooth pulled. So up to that point any visit to the dentist was quick everything fine and just go a checkup and the usual clean from them.
Wow was a change when I went to the hygienist- they seem to look on your teeth in a different light. 30 minutes are spent scraping and cleaning (in comparison with my dentist their 'clean' is more just a quick rub). Lumps of plaque were being removed. At the end of the visit you teeth are completely different. They feel different (cleaner ??) gaps are between the teeth where previously there wasn't.
Also it wasn't the good news story I would have gotten from a dentist. Simialr to you I had a problem for some time with bleeding gums while brushing. This was due to plaque and inflammation of the gum and some gum disease. All basically down to not flossing and brushing properly. In 12-18 month I would have been in trouble by all accounts. Now on their advice I (should !!) brush differently, use porikin (??) for gums, floss and mouth wash.
Talking to a friend he said that he heard that unless you have specific dental problems you should go to a hygienist and let them tell you when you need to see a dentist rather than the other way round (!!??).
I hadn't been following the advice above in the last six months and again it amazing the amount of plaque that they extract, once again I can blow air between my teeth. Not cheap though at 70euro but well worth it imo.

Hope this helps.

JackieO

This sounds like the business!!

Do you have to get a recommendation from a dentist to go to a hygienist. No dentist has ever sent me to a hygienist!

ballsymchugh

JackieO wrote: »

This sounds like the business!!

Do you have to get a recommendation from a dentist to go to a hygienist. No dentist has ever sent me to a hygienist!

you probably don't need to see one then, or else your dentist does the cleaning themselves.

How Strange

At the risk of making a grand sweeping general statement; if you suffer from bleeding when you brush your teeth or if there are signs of blood in your gums during the day or they are inflammed then you should go to a hygienist.

I have gum disease and my dentist would tell me that everything looks great but when I go to the hygienist she tells me that I have signs of tartar so a hygienist is doing a completely different job to your dentist.

It's probably a good idea for everyone to see a hygienist once a year to get your teeth cleaned. If you have complications like me then you'll end up going 2 or 4 times a year.

IMO it's the best €70 I ever spend and if my visits only take 5 mins I'm only too delighted to hand over €70 because it means I'm doing something right. If I'm in there for half an hour then I know I've not been as conscientious as I should've been.

ballsymchugh

How Strange wrote: »

It's probably a good idea for everyone to see a hygienist once a year to get your teeth cleaned. If you have complications like me then you'll end up going 2 or 4 times a year.

not true. you can't tar everyone with the brush you've been tarred with. great if things worked for you, but there are plenty of people out there that have good maintenance of their oral hygiene and can get away with check ups every couple of years, never mind every 6 months.
there are also the people that get referred to hygienists that come back with what can only be described as polished calculus!!