Hygiene Sessions

After the initial mechanical and laser therapy to treat your periodontal disease, your dentist will then review the response to the initial therapy at approximately 3 months. The healing from periodontal disease can be varied and there may be sites that do not respond to initial therapy and may require advanced care.

At this point your dentist may then suggest a focused re-treatment of non-responding sites or persistent pockets. Apart from focused conventional mechanical therapy, advanced care may include the additional usage of local antimicrobial agents. These are antibacterial agents that are target delivered in the form of chips/gels to the sites that require additional attention after initial therapy. Periochip for example contains the agent chlorhexidine gluconate in a microchip format inserted into the pockets requiring therapy, and aims to assist in pocket reduction.

After a further review following re-treatment, non responding sites may be considered for possible surgery.

In the majority of cases gum disease can be controlled with non surgical measures however in some cases surgical treatments for gum disease will be needed when all other treatment options have been carried out.  Your dentist will inform you in this case.

Examples of such procedures are :

-Flap surgery/pocket reduction surgery.

-Bone grafts.

-Soft tissue grafts.

-Guided tissue regeneration.

-Bone surgery

Please read, understand and sign this form before your dental hygienist treatment

download the consent Form

Dear valued client:

1. If you request direct access to an oral hygiene session, please be aware that a hygienist can perform a ‘scale and polish’ to remove stains, tartar and other deposits from teeth in addition to advice for a tailored oral care routine at home. Please be aware that a visit to hygienist is not a substitute for dental examinations by a dentist.
2. Cracked teeth or inadequate restorations (including fillings, crowns, veneers, and orthodontic wires) may chip, detach or break during any hygiene session. In this case you need to contact your dentist for repair and accept relevant costs.
3. After calculus removal, the existing gaps between teeth may seem more obvious
4. After the hygiene session, you may experience more sensitivity of your teeth which mostly subsides in few days however, some cases may need dentist’s treatment/ management
5. If you are not a regular hygiene session attender, there is no guarantee that the treatment will be completed in one session only , meaning additional sessions may be needed 
6. Please plan your journey well in advance and allow some time so that you attend the practice five minutes prior to your appointment. Hygiene sessions are based on continual blocks with strict timed protocols which we need to follow. We thank you in advance for your punctuality. If you attend late, our hygienist may not be able to see you, yet a fee of £45 will be charged. 
7. Your hygienist may advise you to see a dentist. This is because they feel that it is in the interests of your health, it is outside the scope of what they are allowed to do, or they are uncertain about treating you without further advice. In some cases, patients will be asked to see a specialist dentist for gums. It will be your responsibility to book those appointments.
8. There are very rare circumstances when a hygienist can’t start treatment. These may relate to your medical history and general health, or the condition of your mouth.