Professional oral hygiene is becoming a routine procedure for everyone who wants to have healthy and beautiful teeth. However, until a few decades ago, few people had ever heard of such a procedure, and dental care was limited to brushing at home. No wonder teeth decay was more frequent. Nowadays, more and more people are realizing that if you want to go to the dentist’s office less often, you need to see an oral hygienist once every six months!
Painless and useful
Ernesta Kučinskienė, an oral hygienist at CLINIC | DPC, the largest network of dental clinics in Lithuania, says that this procedure is a reliable way to prevent tooth and gum diseases.
“Brushing your teeth correctly at home is very important. However, this alone is not enough to keep your teeth healthy for as long as possible. It is essential to have professional dental cleanings to remove tartar that forms over time. During this procedure, the entire surface of the teeth is thoroughly cleaned. Mineralized and non-mineralized plaque is removed using manual and ultrasonic instruments, the surfaces of teeth and fillings are polished, and if needed, therapeutic applications (e.g., fluoride) are applied. The procedure can take from half an hour to an hour and a half, depending on the patient’s oral and dental condition. If dental cleanings are done regularly, before tartar accumulates deeply under the gums, the procedure is painless and does not require anesthesia,” explains the doctor.
Find out where mistakes are made
According to E. Kučinskienė, not all patients look after their teeth correctly. Some of them only find out about their mistakes when they visit an oral hygienist’s office.
“Inadequate individual oral hygiene and the consequent development of oral and dental diseases are still very common. Everyone wants to be healthy, but sometimes not enough attention is paid to their own and their children’s oral health. They only become concerned when they have a broken tooth, bleeding gums or stumbling teeth. It is very important to remind patients how to look after their teeth properly, to help them choose the most appropriate oral care products and to warn them not to ignore a single drop of blood. When the mouth is healthy, the gums do not bleed,” warns the oral hygienist.
During a professional oral hygiene session, the specialist examines the patient’s teeth and determines whether they are being cleaned correctly. The person is told what mistakes they are making and what they can do to keep their teeth healthy for longer. The oral hygienist recommends the right tools to help keep the mouth clean and help develop good oral health habits.
To make the visit less frightening
Many people think that they will have to suffer the pain and agony in the oral hygienist’s office, so they avoid such visits. In reality, the regular procedure is painless and the benefits are enormous. E. Kučinskienė says that every specialist tries to make the patient feel comfortable and calm during the procedure.
“An oral hygienist must first and foremost be empathetic and not indifferent to his or her patients. Often patients are even more afraid of oral hygiene than dental treatment, so you need to know how to prepare them psychologically before the procedure. A good professional is sensitive to the patient’s fear or occasional discomfort. Some people do not say they are afraid or in pain. Then we have to notice it from their body language”, says the specialist about her work.
To make sure that a visit to an oral hygienist is not a frightening experience, E. Kučinskienė urges people to forget the old myths about suffering in the doctor’s office. “Today’s medicine is far advanced, and we have all sorts of tools and methods to prevent pain. It is important to understand this and to trust the specialist. After all, the psychological strain is often greater than the physical discomfort. So I would like to wish patients to have the courage to come once, and then it will not be so scary anymore. I would also urge them to pay more attention to their own health, because oral and dental health is an integral part of general health. Broken teeth or periodontal disease cause not only physical but also psychological discomfort. A beautiful smile and healthy teeth are not only a reflection of a healthy body, but often a reflection of a happy life, irrespective of age, gender or nationality,” smiles the doctor.
