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Dental hygienists help maintain your teeth and gums
If you think that brushing your teeth once or twice a day – with occasional flossing – will keep your teeth in tip-top condition, think again. To maintain good dental health, you would need to complement these at-home oral hygiene routines with regular visits to your dentist or dental hygienist.
While many people would only think of seeing a dentist when a tooth hurts, it is actually more effective – both cost- and health-wise – to upkeep an active oral hygiene maintenance program with your dentist or dental hygienist to prevent similar occurrences.
Family dental clinics that take their preventative work seriously would often employ a dental hygienist to strategize and run their hygiene programs. Dental hygienists possess the credentials, training and education to carry out clinical and non-clinical tasks that are specific to oral hygiene maintenance. While a dentist’s main focus is to restore health and beauty to your teeth, a dental hygienist’s job is to help keep your teeth in good repair with a preventative outlook.
Contrary to popular misconception, dental hygienists do more than teach your kids how to brush. In fact, they assume a variety of clinical, support as well as hands-on functions. To become a qualified dental hygienist, one is required to finish an accredited dental hygiene program that takes between 2-3 years. Some even go on to complete a four-year Bachelor’s degree in Dental Hygiene, which includes courses in hygiene theory and oral anatomy.
A dental hygienist is trained to perform specific chair-side procedures like tartar and plaque removal, utilizing rotary and ultrasonic hand-held instruments. They take x-rays to check the state of your gums and periodontal health. Dental hygienists keep track of your dental progress by recording any disease or abnormalities, based on the dentist’s oral examination results. They educate you on the best oral hygiene methods and preventative measures that will minimize the probability of dental ailments like gum diseases and tooth decays. These may include the illustration and explanation of “quit smoking” and nutrition-based programs. And yes, they also teach your kids how to properly brush and floss.
All these tasks and responsibilities show the unique contributions of dental hygienists towards the clinic that prides itself on delivering top-notch dental care with an active preventative program. It is true that prevention is better than cure. It is thus fair to assume that a dental practice that believes in preventative dentistry is concerned about the long-term wellbeing of their patients, as opposed to one that simply administers treatments as and when a dental problem arises.
Don’t leave your dental health to chance. Find the right dental partner to jumpstart an active oral maintenance program today! If you are interested to learn more about what an active preventative program can do for you, call +61(3) 53649555 to book an appointment with our in-house dental hygienist. For more info, visit dentistryatballarat.com.au
FAQs
Why do you take an hour for the first exam, when other dentists don’t? There are many problems that a patient can present with on their first appointment. Sometimes the health of your teeth and all the structures that surround your teeth are perfect. But we don’t know what we will find when we’re seeing a patient for the first time. So before we can give you the “all clear” we feel that we have to set aside enough time to explore all your presenting issues (and not just the obvious ones that are quick to spot.) You can rest assured that our standard fee is charged for this comprehensive 1 hour appointment.Comprehensive Exam Why do I need to see a hygienist? Can’t the dentist just clean my teeth? Will they cost more? Hygienists’ training is dedicated to caring for gums, whereas dentists cover a much wider field of diagnosis. A narrower, more detailed focus generally means that more problems can be diagnosed at an earlier stage when treatment is easier, cheaper and with a better prognosis
Hygienists usually spend more time with you, thoroughly cleaning your teeth. They also can provide you with advice on how to take really great care of your smile. And, it doesn’t cost any more to see a hygienist!
Gum health requires more regular checking than the teeth. The hygienist is an economic way for you to have your teeth cleaned regularly without having to see the dentist every time—similar to seeing your GP when you have the flu, rather than getting an appointment with a specialist surgeon.
Maintaining Healthy Gums I haven’t been to a dentist in years & I’m worried about what they might find. At Dentistry @ Ballarat our team understands that fixing dental problems that may have been brewing for years can see the bills mount. That is why we’ll make certain that you get a treatment plan that allows you to be aware upfront of indicative costs and time. We also offer GE credit to assist with payment plans so that you can rest assured that you can budget accordingly.
We always focus on preserving teeth as much as possible and practicable. Dental problems compound if left untreated and that generally means the optimal time to start is straightaway. While the prospect of getting a number of procedures to fix your dental problems can be worrying, the best place to start is with a roadmap that will let you know where we need to go.
Services What’s the difference between a porcelain filling
and a cheaper one? Porcelain fillings are incredibly strong. A porcelain filling gives the tooth back its strength. Research has shown that the strength of the tooth is restored by porcelain to between 80–100% of its original strength. A usual (composite) filling comes nowhere close to that. Amalgam (silver) fillings are even worse—actually sometime causing teeth to fracture.
Porcelain fillings are more compatible with natural teeth than any basic filling material. Composite wears much faster than enamel and can break down base of the tooth, allowing decay to get into the tooth. No filling carries a 100% guarantee, but porcelain fillings come closer than any other basic filling material.
Cosmetic Dentistry How do our dentists look
aftertheir own teeth? You can read about Dr Ian Harper’s personal experience here. Why do I need X-rays?
Do they do me any harm? The fear of X-rays is understandable. However, the dosage of dental X-rays is very low compared to medical X-rays. In fact, X-rays surround us constantly whether we are at the dentist or not, in the form of background radiation, something which is given off by every object. You would need to take nearly 100,000 dental X-rays to equal the dosage of background radiation you experience over an average lifetime. Our digital X-ray system makes them even safer, reducing dosage by 50%.
We cannot always see where decay has managed to enter the tooth. X-rays prevent unnecessary fillings and allow us to do only the fillings that need to be done. Early diagnosis of decay also prevents the need for root-fillings into the future. If it isn’t currently broken,
do I need to get it fixed? A “stitch in time saves nine” describes our approach perfectly.
Our teeth have to serve us from when we are 6 to 106, and while the rest of the body can repair itself after being damaged, our teeth depend on us to be fixed.
Sometimes a tooth can be fixed after it has fractured; then again, sometimes the fracture is catastrophic and the only alternative is to extract it. No matter how easily it can be fixed, the prognosis for the tooth is always better if there is more of the tooth left to fix. That implies that the dentist and any assisting team members should use their experience and knowledge to identify those teeth which are heading in the direction of catastrophic failure and advise the patient accordingly.
The same preventive principles also apply to the other two most common causes of tooth loss: decay causing abscess and gum disease.
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