• Sheen Dental

What does a hygienist in Richmond actually do?

A hygienist in Richmond has many roles that are important to the overall improvement of your oral health. First and foremost, they clean your teeth. Not like you clean them at home, mind you, but with special tools that allow them to get in between your teeth effectively, and just under your gums where a lot of bacteria lie.

They can reach behind your back teeth and fish out food debris that has been wedged there for a long time, causing bad breath and really damaging the enamel on teeth it touches. Their job is very important in ensuring that your smile can remain healthy and beautiful.

They also remove the plaque and tartar that slowly build up over time. They scrape it away, which sounds uncomfortable, it isn’t, but really gives that squeaky clean feeling. Then they give your teeth a good polish with a special toothpaste.

This toothpaste can remove those extrinsic stains that could be the cause of you losing a little confidence in your smile. Teeth can yellow with age, but can also dull from staining caused by coffee, tea, smoking and certain foods like curry or beetroot.

To know if a food or drink you enjoy is going to stain your teeth, you only need to think about whether it would stain your clothing. If this is the case, then over time it will stain your teeth as well. If you do not remove extrinsic stains early enough, then they can become deeper and more ingrained into your enamel and become intrinsic stains.

These are harder to remove and your hygienist in Richmond may need to recommend a whitening treatment to effectively brighten your smile.

This is why it is so important to frequently visit your hygienist in Richmond if you want to maintain a beautiful and healthy smile. They keep on top of the damaging plaque and food debris that remain on your teeth and buff away stains to keep your smile white and bright.

That is not all they do however

Although this is so important, these friendly and determined professionals have another job as well. One of the most important tasks of all that they have is to talk to you about how you can care for your teeth correctly at home.

Education is one of the best tools that we have in ensuring that you are armed with all you need to keep cavities and disease at bay. So by having a discussion with us, we can provide you with bespoke advice that is tailor made just for you, to offer suggestions so you can ensure your smile is the best it can be.

We also take a look at your mouth to see if there is any sign of gum disease or other issues that we should investigate further. We can talk to you about signs to look out for so you know whether you should contact your dentist quickly if something is concerning you.

We are all working together to ensure that your mouth remains healthy and happy.