Dental Hygiene

There’s nothing like running your tongue over your fresh-from-the-dentist clean teeth, is there? Well, here at The York Dental Suite, we want to help our patients achieve that feeling every day, not just when you’ve been to visit us. That’s why we promote regular visits to our dental hygiene team and why we put dental hygiene at the heart of our preventive care.

We use super gentle and yet highly effective cleaning techniques to make sure we don’t miss any hidden issues, while still treating you to a comfortable and enjoyable experience. We’ll also help build routines for at-home use that are based around your own unique needs, leaving you feeling educated and empowered when it comes to your oral health and hygiene.

Go With the Flow

Our dental hygiene team works with cutting-edge technology to produce head-turning, confidence-boosting, oral health-enhancing results. Invented by the experts in Switzerland, Guided Biofilm Therapy, or GBT, throws traditional, uncomfortable scale-and-polish techniques to the wayside in favour of targeted, gentle techniques and technology. Targeting the biofilm in the mouth, which is one of the leading causes of tooth decay, dental implant infections, and gum disease, GBT also uses Airflow technology to make the experience comfortable and quick.

Cutting down on time spent in the chair, it takes just seven minutes to clean the teeth using GBT rather than traditional methods which can take up to 40 minutes. It also targets and cleans the entire mouth, treating the tongue and gums for an all-over clean feeling. And not only will you be done in no time, but we’re also able to use this treatment on restorations, veneers, crowns, and braces. If you’re interested in receiving GBT, then you can book the treatment directly online, or ask about it during your next dental hygiene appointment.

Why is dental hygiene so important?

Dental hygiene is the frontline of oral health care. Proper dental hygiene – both at home and in the practice – can help prevent tooth decay and gum disease, both of which are major causes of infection, and even tooth loss. Proper hygiene can mean the difference between treating you with solely preventive measures, and providing intervention treatments such as fillings, crowns, bridges, and root canal treatments.

How often should I visit the dental hygienist?

At The York Dental Suite, we recommend dental hygiene appointments twice a year. Our dentists may well recommend an extra trip to the hygienist after performing a routine examination, but by and large we like our patients to be getting hygiene treatments at least bi-annually.

What happens during a dental hygiene appointment?

Our gentle, and highly skilled hygienists are able to provide our patients with full-service treatment. While other practices may just provide the traditional scale and polish routine, we’re able to offer GBT with Airflow which targets the biofilm while gently and effectively removing plaque, tartar and superficial staining from the teeth, as well as debris from the mouth. The hygienist will also perform an examination of the mouth, looking for signs of gum disease, and offer treatment and advice where needed.

What is gum disease?

Gum disease is one of the most common diseases in Europe, and one of the most common causes of tooth loss in patients. It is also easily prevented, detected, and treated with regular visits to the dentist, hygienist, and proper at-home care. When left untreated, gum disease can cause bleeding, receding gums, loose teeth, and ultimately, tooth loss. We want to avoid this wherever possible, which is why we recommend regular visits to our hygienist, as well as annual or bi-annual dental examinations with our team here.