Good dental hygiene is essential if you want to maintain healthy gums, which underpin healthy teeth. Without healthy gums, your teeth have nowhere safe to call home, and attending your routine hygienist cleanings is part of making sure they don’t become affected by disease.
In this blog, we’ll be discussing the role of hygienist appointments, and why missing them will move you steps closer to gum disease and eventually, tooth loss.
Dental hygiene is a phrase that refers to the general cleanliness of your mouth, including your teeth and gums.
During your hygienist appointments, your hygienist removes bacteria that becomes stuck all along your gum line. Even with the best brushing and flossing habits on the planet, you won’t completely avoid sticky plaque and tartar (hardened plaque) collecting on your teeth. This is why hygienist appointments are essential, because these substances won’t budge with DIY cleaning methods.
Just like you wouldn’t not have a shower after a heavy gym session, you shouldn’t leave harmful bacteria lingering in your mouth.
What is plaque and tartar?
Plaque is a bacteria deposit formed as a result of saliva, food and fluids mixing together.
It collects where the gum and teeth meet, and when you eat sugars and carbs. When you drink water and floss and brush your teeth, most plaque is removed (as long as you’re using the correct technique). However, some can and does get left behind and stick on your teeth. Your hygienist removes this leftover plaque during your appointment.
If left to settle because of missed routine hygienist check-ups, plaque can harden and turn into tartar, a yellowish substance that not only looks unpleasant, but suffocates your teeth too.
Plaque is the direct cause of gum disease, so it’s no surprise that in allowing it to make a home along your gum line, you’re increasing your chance of developing the condition significantly. Gum disease is the leading cause of tooth loss in adults here in the UK, and this is in part due to the fact that a third of adults don’t go to the hygienist. By simply coming along to 1 or 2 appointments each year, you can protect your teeth from failing due to gum disease.
Bad breath
Plaque and tartar don’t give off a very appealing odour, causing bad breath and even a bad taste in your mouth. When the hygienist removes the plaque and tartar from your gum line, you’ll have the peace of mind that your breath is as fresh as it can be.
Unsightly teeth
Neither plaque nor tartar look particularly good on your teeth. In having these harmful substances removed, you’ll also doing a great favour to your smile’s appearance.
If you ever choose to go ahead with treatment such as teeth whitening, or other elective treatments like composite bonding or veneers, you will need to have any plaque and tartar removed first.
Tooth loss
As we’ve already mentioned, gum disease is a prolific cause of tooth loss in adults. It literally eats away at your gums and creates pockets in your gum line. Through these pockets, plaque and tartar can access your tooth roots, which don’t have the protective enamel coating to shield them from cavities.
Once plaque and tartar are allowed to attack these tooth roots, they can even start eroding the jawbone too, which demonstrates just how pernicious these substances are.
Once your gums are severely inflamed, teeth will start to loosen, as the gums pull away from the teeth (known as gum recession). Meanwhile, the jawbone deteriorates, bringing about aesthetic changes including a more angular lower face and hollowed appearance.
General health problems
Gum disease doesn’t just stop at destroying your oral structures and jawbone.
The plaque that forms in your mouth can become arterial, which can become catastrophic for your heart health. plaque can enter the bloodstream once it’s reached underneath your gum line and latched onto your tooth roots. As heart disease is caused by dental plaque, having additional plaque in your arteries as a result of gum disease moves you a step closer to serious medical events, such as a heart attack. Plaque has also been linked to Alzheimer’s disease in recent clinical studies. Whilst these studies are ongoing, a strong link was uncovered.
Dental hygiene Heston – book your routine hygienist appointment at The Smile Studios
The routine dental and hygiene care we provide is something we’re most proud of – after all, it’s these bread and butter appointments that prevent serious dental problems from occurring.
We want to help you minimise having treatment for gum disease and to address lost teeth that have fallen victim to gum disease. Your routine hygienist cleanings to have plaque and tartar removed are your first line of defence, and never an undertaking you’ll regret.
Book your hygienist appointment by looking up ‘dental hygiene Heston’, or simply give us a call. on 020 8577 2206. We look forward to help you maintain a healthy mouth.
