Visiting a hygienist is an important part of your dental care. Alongside a dentist they help to prevent dental problems which can include preventing dental decay and gum disease through advice and treatment.

Your hygienist will advise you on how to improve the health of your mouth and provide you with a tailored plan to implement at home so that you can achieve the best treatment outcome from your appointment.

It’s important we keep up-to-date information about you, your medical history and general health. To save time when you come into the practice, you can complete your forms online before you attend your appointment in the comfort of your own home. This also enables us to devote your appointment time to your treatment.

Medical and lifestyle information helps assess the suitability of some treatments we may offer. It also helps form a diagnosis, treatment plans and any necessary actions in the event of you having a medical emergency.

These medications should always be brought to all dental appointments in case you need them:

• Inhalers
• Epipens
• Heart medications

If you have a removable appliance or a retainer please also bring this to all dental appointments.

Your first appointment will be for 45 minutes or one hour (adult appointment). The appointment length will be advised by your Hygienist or Dentist according to your specific needs. A child’s first appointment is for 30 minutes. If you have not already completed a medical health form prior to arrival, your hygienist will discuss your medical and dental history with you at the start of your appointment in order to provide you with the best possible care.

You may need further appointments depending on how much work is required. This can only be gauged once the hygienist has seen inside your mouth.

At your appointment your hygienist will:

• Perform an oral cancer screening check
• Give you local or topical treatment for pain, discomfort or sensitivity prevention prior to your treatment if necessary.
• Carry out a clinical examination of your gums and the tissues that support your teeth, (not a full dental examination as performed by a dentist)
• Clean your teeth and remove stains with Airflow (a device that sprays warm water, air and powder to brighten your teeth) if suitable
• Conduct above and below the gum surface cleaning with a combination of hand instruments and/or power driven scalers.
• Provide treatments for the care of implants and implant bridges and dentures and treatment of their surrounding tissues
• Apply topical treatment for pain relief, tooth, sensitivity, and tooth surface wear at the end of treatment if necessary.

Your hygienist will discuss with you the suitability of all of the above treatments with regards to your own sensitivities and preferences to provide you with the best outcome in order to help resolve your gum condition.

If you have been referred to the hygienist by your dentist and a hygiene prescription has been provided, your hygienist will focus on the the treatment requested in your prescription.

Your hygienist will also advise you on how to care for your teeth by:

• Devising a tailored care plan for you to follow at home and suggest and demonstrate cleaning techniques and products for you to use. An oral hygiene regime is a dynamic process and what may have worked for you in the past may not be working for you now. Therefore, your hygienist may suggested an updated regime to provide the best outcome.
• Recommending the frequency of hygiene appointments required according to your needs in order to maintain good oral health. With improved oral health and regimes the goal is to have less frequent hygiene appointments.
• Providing you with preventive oral care and liaising with your dentist, so that the whole team involved in your dental well being is kept up-to-date.
• Providing advice on diet, smoking cessation and alcohol reduction and any other information relevant to reducing the risk factors of  periodontal and systemic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.

Your hygienist may suggest a referral to one of our specialist dentists to ensure you receive the best available care and treatment option. Referrals may include visiting the dentist for overdue check-ups, a referral to our gum specialist (periodontist) Puneet Patel or a referral to a hospital for diagnosis.

Please bear in mind that these treatments are not included in your hygiene appointment and if required, your hygienist will refer you to one of our dentists.

• A full dental examination
• Tooth filling treatment
• Root filling treatment
• Treatment of broken teeth
• Teeth removal

Should you require any of these or any radiographs / x-rays your hygienist will refer you to one of our dentists for advice.

These medications should always be brought to all dental appointments in case you need them:

• Inhalers
• Epipens
• Heart medications

If you have a removable appliance or a retainer please also bring this to all dental appointments.

• Your dental surgery will have been prepared to provide a safe environment for you.
• We will ask you to place your personal belongings in a plastic box.
• We use air purifying units in our surgeries which add a bit of background noise to the room, and your dentist and nurse will be speaking through their masks so please let us know if you are unable to hear us clearly.
• If you are wearing a mask, we will ask you to remove it at the beginning of your appointment.
• After your appointment please go to reception to settle your fee and book any further appointments.

Your appointment will last for 30 minutes and will enable you to share your dental concerns and aspirations with us so that we can offer you treatment options to meet your individual dental requirements. Treatment will not commence at your first appointment unless you require urgent care.

• Examine your teeth, gums and mouth and perform a mouth cancer check.
• Discuss any dental problems you may have, or if you have been referred for particular treatment, discuss this with you.
• Discuss general health and dietary issues that can affect your teeth and gums such as alcohol consumption or smoking.
• Discuss your teeth cleaning habits, such as brushing technique, and recommend any improvements such as interdental brushes or flossing as required.
• Take dental scans and xrays if necessary.
• Explain any further treatment you may need, such as fillings, root canal treatment or hygienist appointments.
• Answer any questions you may have regarding your treatment and what options are available.
• If you require no other treatment, your dentist will let you know when you should come for your next routine check up.
• At the end of your examination you will be offered mouthwash and asked to put your facemask back on before leaving the surgery and to wear it until you have left the building. 
• We will ask you to go to reception to pay using your debit or credit card.

Your actual examination will be more about getting to know you and listening to your dental concerns unless you require urgent treatment.

We will contact you shortly after your appointment to arrange your next visit and will email or post treatment plans to you with detailed information about time scales and fees.

Your Dentist may refer you to us for a CBCT Scan or an OPG X-ray. 

A CBCT Scan is a specialised X-ray test which produces clear 3D pictures of the inside of your body, in this case your mouth.  An OPG is a conventional panoramic or wide view X-ray of the lower face, which displays all the teeth of the upper and lower jaw on a single image.  These images can be used for planning the position of dental implants or for periodontal (gum disease) or endodontic (root canal) assessment. Our Radiographer Natasha Yeung, will use our dental X-ray system to take your scan or X-ray and send it to your Dentist following your appointment.  

On the day, you will meet Natasha or one of our other qualified Dental Radiographers, who will escort you to the scanning room and explain the process to you. The scan itself takes only a few seconds and your whole visit to us is likely to be less than half an hour.

On receipt of a referral from your Dentist, you can be assured that we will:

• Contact you without delay to arrange an appointment at your earliest convenience.
• Discuss all treatment options with you.
• Provide you with comprehensive treatment plans and estimates for each suggested treatment option; keeping your Dentist informed every step of the way.
• Notify your Dentist of any changes or additions to your suggested treatment plan.
• Carry out only the specialist treatment for which you have been referred.

We welcome the involvement of your Dentist in your Specialist care at Devonshire House and invite them to observe your treatment or to be involved in restorative aspects of implant procedures.

Following your specialist treatment with us, we will return you back to the care of your local Dentist to resume your routine dental care regime. In the case of dental implants, we may ask you to return to Devonshire House for a routine after care appointment a year later.