What is the most common dental treatment?

Well, the answer might surprise you!

It’s a dental hygiene appointment, with approximately half of all dental appointments booked by adults being dental hygienists appointments. This is great because a hygienist appointment is arguably one of the most important. It can help prevent periodontal disease, also known as gum disease, gum infection or even the need for fillings due to tooth decay. We even have a National Dental Hygiene Month in March!

A hygienist can do more effective interdental cleaning than flossing teeth alone or even using interdental brushing using specialised brushes. This is because they have tools that allow them to safely clean around the gum line, between the teeth or even under the gumline! Oral hygiene is extremely important, although brushing and flossing daily is a great practice often we need some additional help from a hygienist.

Is a hygiene appointment just for people with poor dental hygiene?

No, absolutely not! There is no shame in being recommended for a hygienist appointment, it’s a great way to ensure you’re preventing tooth decay and the need for fillings or further dental work. A simple hygienist appointment also helps you to feel fresh, because whilst flossing teeth and brushing is fantastic it will never be as effective as professional cleaning. Plus some stubborn plaque can build up in small amounts over time even with all the best will in the world!

Can you see an NHS hygienist?

Absolutely, if you’re with an NHS dentist you can visit their hygienist for an appointment. The cost of this is £23.80 and is referred to as a ‘scale and polish ’. If you wish to book a private appointment with Dental Concepts the charge for a hygiene appointment is £75.

Here are some facts about your hygienist appointment.

We hope this gave you some good insight into the UK’s most popular treatment. If you have any questions or wish to get booked in with Dental Concepts, give us a call, we’d be happy to help!

1. A hygienist appointment could brighten your teeth with the removal of surface level staining. For those with stain-free teeth, you may still want to opt for whitening to get that pearly bright smile, but a simple hygiene appointment may be all you need!
2. Your dental hygienist will be able to guess many of your brushing habits, just based on your oral health!
3. 47.2% of adults aged 30 years and older have some form of periodontal disease! It's estimated that a huge majority of this number could be prevented by good oral hygiene. Regular hygienist appointments are part of the treatment for early-stage gum disease (gingivitis) and more advanced gum disease. You can imagine if hygiene appointments form part of gum disease treatment, then this is a great method of prevention.
4. Your hygienist will be able to help you improve your oral hygiene by providing some simple but effective tips as well as guiding you in the right direction on your brushing and flossing techniques. If you have poor dental hygiene or even just want to improve your oral health, a visit to the hygienist is a great idea.

We hope this gave you some good insight on the UK’s most popular treatment. If you have any questions or wish to get booked in with Dental Concepts, give us a call, we’d be happy to help!