Dental Hygiene and Therapy

At Wensleydale Dental Practice, we are lucky to have two dental therapists, and one dental hygienist.

Therapists:

Jessica Brudenell-Bush, RDH | RDT – GDC: 109874

Gulab Singh, RDH | RDT – GDC: 174715

Hygienist:

Anna Krysiak – GDC Number: 279739

They have been specially trained to provide you with preventative dentistry treating gum disease. They can show you correct personal home care, thus helping you to keep your teeth and gums healthy.

FAQs

What do they do?
Their main role is to prevent and treat gum disease, including professionally cleaning your teeth. This is commonly called “scale and polish”. Sometimes, a deep clean may be required, which involves descaling of the teeth’s root surfaces; this is usually performed over several appointments. One of their most important roles is to show you the best way to keep your teeth plaque-free. If you do not brush away the plaque properly, it will harden to form calculus, which you will not be able to remove yourself. They also provide you with advice on diet and preventing dental decay.

Why is this dental treatment so important?
Routine, regular, professional cleaning, along with good home oral hygiene, will keep your mouth healthy. A clean and healthy mouth not only improves your appearance, it helps you to keep your teeth, gives you fresh breath and also helps you to maintain your general health.

How do they prevent dental disease?
This is where they truly come into their forte! They carefully remove the hard deposits of calculus that have built up on your teeth, some of which can be below your gum line, and teach you how to prevent them from coming back. This, along with advice on your home care and diet and recommending other preventative measures, slows down the rate at which gum disease progresses.

What else can they do to help me?
Adults who are at a higher risk of tooth decay can benefit from having topical fluoride applied. Those who have gum disease which is not improving or stabilising can have an antibiotic gel or a germicidal biodegradable chip applied under the gum to kill the harmful bacteria which is causing the gum disease.

You must learn to look after your teeth and gums at home. At your appointment, you will be given clear advice and instructions on how to do this. You will also be shown which oral care products are most suitable for you to use.

If you smoke, it will also be suggested at your appointment that you should give up and the beneficial reasons as to why for your oral health. In addition, if you would like any help on giving up smoking, a referral can be made by one of our professionals after your appointment to either your doctor or Camquit.

Why doesn’t the dentist do this work?
Some dentists do this type of work themselves. However, hygienists and therapists have been specially trained to carry out these treatments, thus making them experts.

Does the treatment hurt?
A scale and polish are usually pain-free. However, when a more extensive scaling is required, they will quite often use an anaesthetic gel and/or give you a local anaesthetic. You must let them know at the time of treatment if you are experiencing any discomfort so that they can treat you accordingly.

How much does treatment cost?
Currently, here at Wensleydale Dental Practice, each appointment is £69.00.

Please also be aware that if you fail to keep your appointment or you do not allow 24 hours prior notice when cancelling the appointment, it is practice policy that you will incur a charge of £32.00.

What can I do to help myself?
It is most important that you keep your teeth clean in between your appointments. You will be shown the correct method to brush your teeth and how to clean interdentally at your appointment. Recommendations will also be made as to which oral care products are best suited to your personal oral care needs.

There are now many products available on the market, but here at Wensleydale Dental Practice, we stock a professional range that we believe is some of the best at a very competitive price. If we do not stock an item that is recommended to you, you will either be informed of where you can purchase it, or we may be able to obtain it for you!

We always recommend that you follow these four simple steps:

• Brush your teeth at a minimum, last thing at night and first thing in the morning with fluoride toothpaste.
• Clean interdentally at least once a day.
• Cut down on how often you have sugary foods and drinks.
• Visit your dentist regularly, as often as they recommend.

Do you visit our oral hygienist regularly? We may be able to save you money with Wensleydale Dental Plans!

Do you have overcrowded or misaligned teeth making it difficult to keep them clean? The Invisalign® treatment may be your solution, as well-aligned teeth are easier to keep clean!

How to brush