Dental hygienist visit. Required?

mrcheez

Recent dentist check-up and everything checked out A-ok. The visit was free (for me) as it was covered by the Dental Treatment scheme.

Dentist mentioned I had some plaque and was heavily pushing the idea that I pay the dental hygienist a visit. I said I'd hold off on booking an appointment until I figured out when I'm available.

In retrospect I think that it may not be "essential" and that I can probably survive and they may simply have been trying to squeeze a little extra cash out of me.

Is the dental hygienist visit a requirement, or will I still have (relatively) healthy teeth without?

davo10

mrcheez wrote: »

Recent dentist check-up and everything checked out A-ok. The visit was free (for me) as it was covered by the Dental Treatment scheme.

Dentist mentioned I had some plaque and was heavily pushing the idea that I pay the dental hygienist a visit. I said I'd hold off on booking an appointment until I figured out when I'm available.

In retrospect I think that it may not be "essential" and that I can probably survive and they may simply have been trying to squeeze a little extra cash out of me.

Is the dental hygienist visit a requirement, or will I still have (relatively) healthy teeth without?

Plaque causes gum disease. Once the dentist tells you it's there and advises you what needs to be done, he/she has done what is required professionally. If you elect to ignore that advice, then you alone are responsible for any deterioration in your dental health. If plaque is there it is full of bacteria, if you know it's there, how is advising you to have it removed squeezing money out of you?

mrcheez

I've lasted several years without going to the hygienist (fine teeth and gums) so assumed it's not urgent

davo10

mrcheez wrote: »

I've lasted several years without going to the hygienist (fine teeth and gums) so assumed it's not urgent

You know best so carry on. From the dentist view point, it is written in your notes that you were advised to have the treatment. Everyone's happy.

mrcheez

Perfect

Beano

I've never been to a dental hygienist and my dentist has never mentioned it. What is it that they do that my dentist doesnt do during my regular clean and polish?

mrcheez

Beano wrote: »

I've never been to a dental hygienist and my dentist has never mentioned it. What is it that they do that my dentist doesnt do during my regular clean and polish?

Afaik that they remove plaque that you normally can't get at using brushing alone, but your regular clean and polish is probably the same thing (i.e. your dentist uses the scraping tools).

I was getting the treatment for free (only a check-up is covered under the Treatment Benefit) and as there was no requirement for a follow-up (no fillings or gum disease etc), it was suggested that I *could* go for a visit to the hygienist to remove the plaque.

I emphasise the mention of "could" so it seemed like it wasn't an emergency. Hence I posted up here to establish if this was an urgent requirement or if it could wait until I need to get my filing fixed (probably in next year or so).

I might get some of those chewing tablets that highlight the plaque in my mouth and see how bad it is and make my decision to pursue it further based on that.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

You were told you need a cleaning so lets assume your gum health is not 100%, either get that done, or have smelly breath and possible gum diseases like bleeding gums and bone loss. Its up to you. No its not essential, but neither is washing or general hygiene.

mrcheez

No I wasn't told, it was suggested. Big difference.

If there was an imminent risk of my gums suffering gum disease due to a hefty amount of plaque I'm sure the dentist would have made this clear and I would have been "told" to go to a hygienist. As such the consensus was that my gums were in a fine state and there are no issues regarding bad breath

I'll try the self-analysis method of viewing how much plaque there is and then decide, but it's good to know it's not an emergency.

Mingetoad

It's unlikely to have been 'urgent' as such given that you are unaware of any gum problems. As a dentist it can be difficult to suggest to a patient what you recommend they have done without being accused of 'trying to squeeze money' out of the patient, especially when the patient does not believe there is a problem.
That doesn't mean that you wouldn't benefit from the treatment. Will your teeth fall out next week if you don't see the hygienist? Not by the sounds of things. Will your gums suddenly start giving you pain or trouble? Again, from what you say, sounds unlikely. But if you continue to allow plaque to build up on your teeth slowly but surely gum disease will rear its ugly head and at that stage you'll regret not getting straightforward hygienist treatment to keep everything tickety-boo.

In summary, sounds like you can stay away from the hygienist for now if you would prefer to. But if there is plaque building up (as the dentist has told you there is) a problem will develop and will probably require more extensive treatment to fix than it would have to avoid.

mrcheez

Surely if i take the plaque disclosing tablet and see there is fairly little plaque then I am not at risk?

Not to mention i could try a good bout of home remedies (e.g. Flossing etc) before shelling out for a professional job as the plaque build up is fairly minimal according to the dentist.

davo10

Why are you posting about this? If you are sure you don't need it, do you really need someone to tell you that you are right?

mrcheez

As per my original post, I was trying to establish if this is a fairly common thing pushed by dentists when the amount of plaque is not excessive.

My previous dentist (in a different location) never mentioned it, so thought it might just be an over-cautious recommendation or a common revenue generating device.

Anyway after posting initially I realised I could test the plaque levels myself so I can judge if it really is worth shelling out for.

davo10

This is pretty simple:

Plaque contains bacteria, bacteria causes gum disease, if you have plaque, you have bacteria and are therefore at risk of gum disease.

Now, you know you have plaque, therefore you know that there is a bacteria filled deposit on your teeth, yet you think the dentist is trying to "squeeze" cash out of you by advising you to have it removed. Is it a common thing for dentists to "push" this treatment? Are you seriously asking if dentists advise treatments which improve oral health and prevent gum disease? That's like asking is it common for Doctors to advise you on how to cure an illness when you visit one, D'oh.

Therefore, a dentist is advising you to have something removed that you know is potentially harmful to you, but you want to use disclosing tablets which are normally used to show children how to brush their teeth, to prove to yourself that you don't need to have it removed even though you know it is there. Can you see in between your back teeth? if you can that is a neat trick.

Am I missing something? Why do you need others to tell you something you already know is present but don't want to pay to have removed? Look, if you don't want it, don't get it done, it's that simple, virtually every other child/adult understands that plaque on teeth is not good for you and it makes your breathe smell.

Incidentally, if you have plaque and are at risk of gum disease, by not mentioning it to you and not advising you have it removed, the dentist would be open to a charge of negligence if you subsequently developed gum disease. He/she was required to inform you, which he/she did, but the dentist cannot force you to have treatment even though it may be in your best interest.

mrcheez

Lol i'm enjoying how riled up you are getting over this more than anything

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Thread going nowhere, asked and answered. Closed.