Dental Hygienist
The Dental Hygienist is a specially trained member of our dental team who work together with the dentist to provide fully integrated dental care. They play an important role in your dental health, preventing dental disease by providing oral hygiene care and instruction to patients. The Hygienist cleans teeth by removing plaque and calculus (tartar) and staining. Both adults and children can benefit from having their teeth cleaned and polished by a Hygienist, as they are taught how dental disease occurs and how it can be prevented. To help prevent decay, the Dental Hygienist will also apply fluoride treatments as well as preventative sealants (fissure sealants) to the permanent back teeth if needed.
Why doesn’t the Dentist to the work? The Dental Hygienist has been specially trained in the cleaning and maintenance of the mouth, teeth and gums. A Dentist will refer a patient to a Dental Hygienist for more specialised care, while they provide complex restorative care. With individually taught home care techniques and regular maintenance, your Dental Hygienist can assist you to maintain your teeth for the rest of your life.
Why should you see a Hygienist? Seeing a Hygienist regularly will save your teeth. We know from experience that those patients who regularly see a Hygienist (twice a year), have much healthier mouths and need much less restorative treatment such as fillings and crowns.
Gum Disease poses the greatest danger to your teeth and accounts for 75% of tooth extractions. It is caused by bacteria sticking to the teeth and building up around the gum. If you have experienced bleeding from the gums, you can be certain you have gum disease. Seeing our Hygienist can help you avoid Gum Disease and ultimately help you keep your teeth!
Our Dental Hygienist – Alex Hayden has moved to the Coolum area from North Queensland and is excited about the prospect of helping Sunshine Coast residents achieve great oral health and gaining the confidence and peace of mind that comes with it. Highly respected within the dental community, Alex regularly travels both across the country and overseas to keep up to date with the very latest skills and techniques.
Passionate about Dental Hygiene and the importance of regular visits to your Hygienist, Alex places strong emphasis on treating patients as individuals, “After all, we are all so different and our mouths and dental needs are equally as diverse”, she said. “I’m thrilled to be joining the team at Coolum Beach Dental, the dentistry is exceptional, the staff genuinely care, and patients are treated to exceptional service that you don’t just find anywhere”.
Research now shows a strong link between Oral Health and many systemic diseases including Diabetes, Heart Disease, Stroke, early onset Alzheimer’s, as well as low birth weight babies and preterm delivery for pregnant women.
Achieving and then maintaining optimal oral health is as essential to your general wellbeing as your regular check-ups with your doctor. It is important to be aware that bleeding gums are not normal or healthy and is, in fact, the first sign of gum disease. Gingivitis, or gum inflammation, precedes gum disease, but is completely reversible in its early stages.
A visit to the Dental Hygienist at Coolum Beach Dental will identify any existing risk factors, check the quality of your saliva, check your blood pressure, screen for oral cancers, and of course remove the plaque, tartar, and stain that builds up in everyone’s mouth as well as help you develop the routines you need at home to help maintain a state of Oral Health – helping you keep your teeth for life and contributing positively to an improvement in your overall health.