Are dental hygienist appointments really necessary?

£50 for a "clean and polish". Is it worth it?

Are dental hygienist appointments really necessary?
As long as it is with a dental hygienist, yes. Hygienists clean the hardened plaque off your teeth, called tartar or calculus. When this builds up on your teeth it can begin to destroy bone. If it stays for more than 6 months it is like fly paper and everything sticks to it building up bigger and growing farther beneath the gums. Eventually, this causes the bone to be destroyed while the buildup replaces it. The longer without a cleaning the more bone loss and eventually u lose enough bone that the teeth become loose. Dental assistants sometimes perform cleanings in some offices. You need to be sure they have a hygienist cleaning your teeth b/c only hygienists or dentists are allowed to actually scale the hard stuff off, which is what a dental cleaning is all about. Hygienists can help slow bone loss, prevent bone loss, and prevent cavities. Common practice used to be polish teeth only. However, now we realize the hard stuff must be removed to keep healthy teeth. Then dentists would scale off some of the hard stuff that was heavy, but this was still not enough b/c they often did not have enough time to spend cleaning all of the smaller buildup out also. And, all of it must be removed or bone loss will occur. So, hygienists have now taken this place of specializing in cleaning this stuff off. If it has been too long since a cleaning a deep cleaning can become necessary or even going to a periodontist for cleaning and treatments to help fix bone loss. Periodontists are dentists who specialize in treating bone loss and gum disease.
Reply:people should go every 6 months if you have insurance.
Reply:No ! i dont think it is, my teeth ended up very sensitive and sore afterwards and i think they just try an get more money out of people. My teeth are well looked after by me, i have no problems whatsoever with them. If you pay a basic monthly fee which includes getting that done then fine but otherwise, to me its all about getting more money out of people.
Reply:Yes, because the more plaque on your teeth the more it will distroy the enamel and give you bad breath. Most people cannot afford dental (including me) so just make sure you are constantly brushing your teeth or rinsing with mouth wash and floss, floss, floss if you cannot afford go to a dentist.
Reply:no ive never had one and look how great my teeth are: http://media.ebaumsworld.com/2006/09/rea...
Reply:Yes, it is very necessary. Have you ever seen the teeth of a person who does not receive adequate dental care? yuck.


Also, any infections in your teeth can actually get into your bloodstream and kill you. Happened to a 6 year old kid recently. His mom did not take him to the dentist, he died. So, yeah 50 is worth it to me.
Reply:Yes, we need to keep our teeth healthy, so that out heart stays healthy.





I go every six months to get mine cleaned...I go at the end of this month again.
Reply:It's only necessary if you don't want to get gum disease. Once tartar hardens on your teeth there is no other way to get it off--this will cause many gum problems.
Reply:Probably not completely necessary; after all, the dentist always used to do that cleaning work in the good old days. But it's nice to think you're looking after your teeth. (Wasn't there a Pam Ayres poem about that?) Our dentist has a "Preventative" payment scheme and I pay monthly to cover me for 2 visits to the hygienist and 2 visits to the dentist per year, well worth the exorbitant fee in my opinion.
Reply:It seems common practice now. The dentist used to do it before so if he did it the cost would as likely be more than 50 quid.


It seems very steep to me, but the removal of the tartar (I think that's what it's called) is necessary for healthy gums, and you can't really do this yourself.
Reply:Only if you need it. Some practices promote a hygienist visit every 6 months as a money-spinner, and because they have to keep the hygienist busy.


Some people I clean every 6 mos, most people every 9-12 mos, and some I have never cleaned at all because they simply don't need it. Over time, unnecessary ultrasonic scaling will eventually lead to the enamel at the neck of the teeth chipping off, especially the lower front teeth. That's a bad thing because it can lead to decay of the softer root surfaces.


So, ask if you really need it, and don't just accept it as a given.


LATER...


Gee, people don't seem to like what I'm saying.


As regards spongebrobrogers above, dentists have never only polished teeth without removing tartar. I still have perio textbooks from 30 years ago, and we cleaned it all off back then.


And for dental solicitor below, he is right in that if a patient has periodontal disease, then either the dentist should treat them himself, or pass the patient to a hygienist, or a periodontist. But it's the LACK OF RECOGNISING gum disease and FAILING TO ARRANGE APPROPRIATE TREATMENT that leads to malpractice suits, not the fact that you haven't had a cleaning every 6 months just because "that's the way it's done". I have respect for hygienists and the work they perform, but does everyone develop gum problems and tartar buildup EVERY 6 months? We all might clean our cars every 2-3 weeks or whatever, but would we use cut-and-polish every time? Should we?


When you've been in dentistry for 25 years, you'll see what damage excessive ultrasonic scaling can do to people's teeth - these can be people who have tried hard to look after their teeth all their lives, and suddenly the enamel is chipping off, they're developing root caries and root fractures, and they're having extractions. Really unpleasant and saddening dentistry.


So, if you need a clean, then have it done, but don't be afraid to ask the dentist/hygienist if you REALLY need it. (Got that off my chest - feel better now!)
Reply:In a nutshell- Yes, Definitely!





I am not a dentist, but as an experienced dental negligence claim solicitor, I regularly deal with clients who have never, or at least never regularly, been to see a hygienist as their dentist has not got one or never referred them to one.





These clients are then horrified to learn that they are suffering with periodontal (gum) disease and now have mobile teeth. It is quite often the case that they then get referred to a periodontist, a specialist in gum disease problems who has to deal with the problem by way of regular scaling and polishings along with other specialist treatment.





That £50 may seem alot of money at the time for a quick clean and polish, but the savings in the long run can be phenomenal, if you consider that to replace all of your teeth with dental implants would cost close to £100,000 which is what some of my dental negligence claim clients are faced with.
Reply:Yes, the cleanings themselves are necessary, but not necessarily with the hygienist, since not all dentists have them in their offices..... and it's not a 'money-scam'.





A cleaning fee is a cleaning fee, whether it's done by the dentist him/herself or the hygienist.
Reply:only if you want to have teeth when you are 70