9 Reasons Not To Delay Your Abbey Road Dental Hygiene Appointment
Keeping up with your hygienist appointments is very important, particularly if you have active gum disease
Here at Abbey Road Dental we are proud to offer comprehensive hygienist services that help patients to maintain clean and healthy gums and teeth.
To support personal oral care at home, we offer lots of useful advice during your hygiene sessions with us.
Our hygienists have a lot to offer, but patients can sometimes put off hygienist appointments, considering them to be positive extras, rather than being part of an essential health routine. Today, we want to encourage you not to put off that hygienist appointment, as avoiding it could have negative and avoidable consequences. Here are 9 reasons not to delay your Abbey Road Dental hygienist appointment:
1. It’s Quick & Convenient
You may have not attended a hygienist appointment before and may be under the impression that the sessions are very lengthy. Whilst you do get plenty of time in the chair with our NW8 hygienists, the appointments are usually no longer than 30-60 minutes apart from initial appointments which can be a little longer, depending on your case. They are also held at the same premises as your checkups, so there is no need to attend a special location to have your time with our hygienists.
2. There’s No Need For Recovery Time
Dental appointments are essential but they can often be put off because of a worry that work will need to be done. We will never go ahead with any work without your say so, so if any issues diagnosed during your checkup can wait for treatment, we can arrange that with you. However, sometimes it is easier just to have certain treatments done whilst you are in to see us; but if you need some recovery time, you may choose to delay a little. Importantly, hygienist appointments don’t tend to require any recovery time at all. Even with some detailed cleaning work, you can still return to work afterwards with a clean and fresh smile and no need to take any time out.
3. It Helps Prevent Gum Disease
Many people think that hygienists are there to deal with gum disease in its active form, whereas actually, hygienists are passionate about gum disease prevention. A lot of their education and knowledge comes from helping patients to clean their teeth and gums in such a way that gum disease is avoided, or if it is present, it is caught so early that it can still be reversed. Putting off your appointment with the hygienist may delay these preventative steps, or the potential for reversal, leading to more complex work and consequences down the line.
4. Hygienists Also Check For Oral Cancer
Hygienists are not trained to do oral cancer checks in the same way that NW8 dentists are. However, as they work on your teeth and gums if they see anything unusual they will discuss it with you and seek further advice from dentists in the clinic. Essentially, it is another pair of eyes checking over these commonly missed parts of the mouth in case anything isn’t quite right. As with everything medical, the sooner an issue is detected and diagnosed, the better.
5. It Helps Us Stay In The Know
Visiting your hygienist regularly helps us stay in the know about your health status. For example, your hygienist may ask about any change in medications and if you mention something that may impact your dental health, we can be aware of that and act accordingly. You may need more regular checkups, for example. We think of your care as a bigger picture, so any information you provide that needs further support beyond the hygienist’s chair, we can take from you and act on it.
6. It’s Vital If You Have Active, Advanced Gum Disease
If you are on a plan to help combat, or manage advanced gum disease, it is absolutely essential that you attend regular hygienist visits. These visits will be in conjunction with dental checkups, all helping you to minimise the impact of periodontitis and hopefully, to compliment treatments like deep cleaning and perhaps even implant placement that have helped you recover from the problem. Delaying your hygienist visit even slightly can be problematic when you’re combatting something like gum disease, because the damage can be so impactful, so quickly.
7. The Sooner Issues Are Dealt With, The Better
In the same way our hygienists look out for signs of cancer, they also keep an eye out for any signs of other issues you’ll need to get the dentist to check out. They are not qualified to examine you in the way a dentist does, but if there are signs of an obvious issue, or you mention an issue, they can ensure you get seen by the right person quickly, avoiding the issue getting more complex, costly and painful over time.
8. It Helps Brighten Your Teeth
A scale from the hygienist helps to brighten up your teeth, removing recent surface stains and other dirt and debris that can detract from how they look. The longer you leave between appointments, the longer you’ll need to wait to brighten up your smile again.
9. There Are Extra Services Hygienists Provide
Hygienists can sometimes provide treatments like teeth whitening and specific dental cleaning treatments. So, if you’re looking at having a cosmetic dentistry treatment such as teeth whitening, you might want to have your appointment sooner rather than later. Our hygienists can answer any questions you may have and get you booked in for your rejuvenating, convenient smile brightening treatment. If they cannot offer you the treatment you need, they can ensure you get booked in with the right clinician so you can discuss your smile goals further.
Is It Time You Booked Your Abbey Road Dental Hygienist Appointment?
There are so many reasons it makes good sense to attend your hygienist appointments on time, especially if you have active gum disease. If you would like to book an appointment today, please call our friendly team on 02076241603 and they will be more than happy to help.