What Does a Dental Hygienist Do?
In the dental network, a dental hygienist (also known as an oral hygienist) has the role of performing teeth cleanings. They also take care of preventive care and can give further instructions for taking care of your oral hygiene. They typically work with your dentist to help their patients maintain optimal oral health.
What is the difference in the roles in the dental office?
In the dental office, there is a team of professionals all working towards taking care of clients in their own roles that all work together. There are three main roles that reside in the dental offices:
- Dentist: A licensed dental provider that offers restorative dental treatments like crowns, bridges, extractions, root canals, and dental fillings. They also have the ability to do more cosmetic dental treatments, like dental bonding or veneers.
- Dental assistant: Depending on the state, a dental assistant may or may not require a license, but they have the proper training to be a helping hand in caring for your oral health. Their role is to help dentists do the treatments for fillings, crowns, or other restorative or cosmetic dentistry needs.
- Dental Hygienist: The specialty of a dental hygienist is the focus on teeth cleanings and other preventative dentistry treatments to help keep up with the health of your teeth and gums.
What exactly does a dental hygienist do?
A dental hygienist has many roles and responsibilities among the three in the office. Most of the time, the dental hygienist focuses on preventive treatments and oral health treatments as well. A few detailed roles a dental hygienist has are:
- A dental hygienist can assist or take care of the X-Ray for an understanding of what’s going on in the patient’s mouth.
- The dental hygienist can also take on the task of teeth cleanings, like scaling and root planing, where plaque and bacteria are scraped off the teeth, then rough spots are buffed out and smoothed.
- The oral hygienist is also able to do oral health screenings to check for any problems and is able to report their findings back to the dentist. This is usually done to help identify any issues before they tend to get worse.
- A dental hygienist can also apply a dental sealant. This is where a protective coating is applied to your back teeth as a shield to help protect those deep grooves and pits from collecting food, bacteria, and other particles harmful to the teeth.
- A dental hygienist can also give instructions and advice for proper care and cleaning to the clients. An oral hygienist knows how important dental cleanings are for optimal oral health. Therefore, they can help demonstrate the proper techniques for flossing and brushing based on your needs.
- The hygienist is also allowed to prescribe a fluoride treatment after the procedure. This treatment is a special toothpaste or mouthwash that has high concentrations of fluoride in it to help improve gum and tooth health.
It is important to establish a healthy relationship with your dental hygienist when visiting the dentist’s office to ensure that the proper care is practiced for oral health.
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