Dental Hygienist vs Dentists
Ever you wondered what the difference is between a dental hygienist and a dentist? You’re not alone, we get asked all the time. We’ll explain it all in this article and give you a good idea of what each one does, and what they can do for you.
We should say up front, both dentists and dental hygienists are trained and licensed dental care professionals. Their shared goal is to ensure that you have a healthy mouth and therefore a healthy body. It’s the reason our team get out of bed everyday.
What is a Dental Hygienist and their superpowers
Dental hygienists focus on preventive oral health. In other words, they focus on making sure nothing goes wrong with your teeth and gums. They focus on techniques and education to prevent dental disease, especially common chronic diseases such as gingivitis. Because your mouth can be affected by all sorts of factors, education is very important and varied.
Education may include dietary advice and smoking cessation, and clinic procedures such as root debridement also assists patients to manage existing conditions such as periodontal disease, cardiovascular disease, oral cancers, diabetes and respiratory disease.
We always tell our patients that disease prevention is preferable to disease treatment (and a whole lot cheaper), that’s why the role of our wonderful team of dental hygienists are so important…and why you should hug them every now and then!
What treatments does a dental hygienist do?
Some of the treatments dental hygienists provide in our clinic include:
- Check up: We recommend getting a check-up every 6 months. This ensures that we can try and catch any problems before they happen.
- Teeth clean: We are sure you do a great job of brushing and flossing, but we recommend that you let our dental hygienists give your mouth a professional clean at least once a year. Doing this will reduce the chance of gum disease and tooth decay.
- Preventative dentistry consultation (kids and adults): Like with many things, talking about problems before they happen is key. Our dental hygienists are always here to give you advice.
To learn more about some of the treatments performed by our lovely dental hygienists, read on here.
What is a Dentist and their superpowers
Dentists diagnose and treat diseases of the teeth, gums and mouth. The same way a doctor might diagnose a problem in other parts of your body.
All our friendly dentists are able to help you with a range of treatments that you can conveniently book online. If you are not sure what treatment you need, please give us a call and our team can help you, and of course our dentists will be able to tell you exactly which treatment is right for you.
What treatments does a dentist do?
Some of the treatments our dentists perform are:
- Children’s dentistry: We try to make it as fun as possible for children for kids to come into our clinics. We recommend that children make their first visit to a dentist from around the age of 18 months.
- Dental emergency: Things sadly go wrong some time. Our dentists can help with chipped or broken teeth, as well as any pain you may be experiencing. (If you’re in pain, please call us right now.)
- Dental implants: Our dentists can replace one or more teeth for you.
- Dentures: These full sets of artificial teeth are set by our dentists, after much consultation, and the removal of any dead or damaged teeth.
- Root canal treatment: This common treatment requires the natural pulp to be replaced with something synthetic, after damage has occurred.
- Teeth whitening: This cosmetic treatment is non-invasive and can make a significant improval on the shade of your teeth. Available as in-chair treatment or take-home pack.
- Tooth extraction: Sometimes teeth have to come out, and our experienced dentists are just the people to do this in a professional way.
To learn more about some of the treatments performed by our experienced dentists read on here.
Want healthier teeth and gums?
If you have any questions at all, call our friendly staff today. We are happy to help anyway we can, get in touch today!