Hygiene

Professional teeth cleanings are so much more than just dental hygiene removing six months of build-up on your tooth enamel. These critical dental visits involve multiple important levels of preventive dental care. At V&A Dental in London, we are focused on helping our patients establish and maintain excellent oral health during and in between every teeth cleaning.

We allow up to 60 minutes for this appointment.

During the appointment, your dentist will carry out an initial dental hygiene examination. They will then:

• Scale your teeth to remove any tartar build-up in those areas brushing cannot reach.

• AIRFLOW a deep-cleaning stain removal procedure for your gums. With the use of a wand and a mixture of water, compressed air, and fine powder particles, the AIRFLOW technique deep cleans and polishes your teeth. It uses air-water micro-burst technology to access tight spaces that conventional scaling methods are unable to.

• Clean and polish your teeth to get rid of any surface stains.

Regular professional cleaning to remove plaque and tartar, combined with looking after your teeth and gums properly at home, will help keep your mouth healthy. A clean and healthy mouth will improve your appearance, help you to keep your teeth and give you fresh breath.

Your dentist might advise that you go to the hygienist frequently. The number of visits will depend on your clinical requirements as well as your desire to have your teeth cleaned and polished on a regular basis.

Before starting a complicated dental procedure like dental implants, your dentist can advise that you visit a hygienist for a complete cleaning.

This is what the training of the hygienist is all about. They will carefully remove the hard deposits of tartar (or ‘calculus’) that build up on the teeth and teach you how to prevent them from coming back. This will do a lot to slow the progress of gum disease. Regular visits and advice will help build your confidence in keeping your mouth healthy.

Adults who have a lot of decay can benefit from having fluoride applied. They can also have anti-bacterial gels and solutions applied under the gum to kill the bacteria causing gum disease.

The hygienist may also suggest giving up smoking, as this will reduce staining and improve your general health. Research has also shown that smokers have more gum disease and lose more teeth than non-smokers. Your hygienist will be able to advise you on various ways of giving up smoking. They can also give you special advice for home care if you have dental implants or orthodontic appliances.

Children can benefit from having their teeth polished. The hygienist can also apply fluoride varnishes to help prevent decay.

The permanent (or ‘adult’) back teeth can also benefit from having the biting surfaces sealed. This is done by applying a special plastic coating to the biting surface soon after the teeth come through.

Hygiene treatment is usually pain free. However, if you do have any discomfort the dentist can use anaesthetic creams, or give you some local anaesthetic. It is important that you let the hygienist know at the time so they can help with your pain.

It's important to visit the hygienist, but you also need to take care of your teeth at home to maintain their cleanliness and health. For a healthy mouth, brushing and flossing should be done frequently.

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• Advice on how to brush your teeth

  • Before brushing your teeth, remember to use interdental brushes or floss.​

  • Twice daily, brush your teeth for two minutes in circular motions with a manual toothbrush. If you use an electric toothbrush, let the brush do the work

  • Try not to brush forward and backwards.

  • To get rid of bacteria and foul breath, brush your tongue.

  • ​After brushing, avoid rinsing your mouth because doing so will remove the fluoride.

Get in touch with us. We can help you to book an appointment.