Care

Looking for a dental hygienist in Geneva?

Your dental hygienist can help you keep your smile bright, your breath fresh and your teeth healthy, so they’re worth looking after. But what’s threatening your teeth and how can you preserve them?

What are plaque and tartar?

Dental plaque is a whitish deposit that forms over a few hours on the surface of teeth. It’s made up of food scraps, saliva and proliferating bacteria. Among this multitude of bacteria, called bacterial flora, some are harmful to our oral health, including :

Streptococcus mutans: the bacteria responsible for carious development
Porphyromonas gingivalis and Actinomyces actinomycetemcomitans: the main bacteria responsible for periodontal (gum) disease.

When plaque accumulates, it gradually mineralizes under the influence of salivary secretions and turns into tartar.

Plaque and tartar

Healthy gums

What can you do to maintain good personal dental hygiene?

Good personal dental hygiene is defined as the complete removal of plaque on a regular basis, 2-3 times a day. Meticulous hygiene helps prevent cavities, maintain healthy gums and limit tartar build-up.

To achieve this, it is absolutely essential to follow all the following advice:

Use a soft nylon toothbrush, changing frequently to maintain its effectiveness. Contrary to popular belief, hard toothbrushes can damage tooth enamel and injure gums.
It's essential to have a good brushing technique adapted to your oral situation and dexterity.
Use interdental cleaning aids, usually dental floss and/or brushes, to remove plaque between teeth.

What is a dental hygienist?

The dental hygienist is an oral health professional whose aim is to preserve your oral health through hygiene sessions: prevention of periodontal and caries diseases. During the hygiene session, she expertly removes tartar (scaling), polishes and fluoridates your teeth. She also adapts personalized instructions for good personal dental hygiene :

A good brushing technique at home
Adapting interdental cleaning methods
The frequency of appointments

What is scaling at the dental hygienist's?

Scaling involves the removal of this tartar by ultra-sonic or manual means. Gingival bleeding may occur during scaling, depending on the degree of inflammation. In cases of dental hypersensitivity, a local anesthetic can be administered to make the procedure more pleasant.
Polishing makes tooth surfaces smoother slowing the reappearance of tartar and removes superficial staining.
Fluoridation remineralizes tooth enamel and helps prevent caries. It also reduces any temporary tooth sensitivity that may occur after scaling.

Frequently asked questions

Does dental hygiene care including scaling, polishing and fluoridation hurt?

There is a wide variation in tooth sensitivity within the population. Some people’s teeth are much more sensitive than others, and may even prevent them from biting into an ice-cream cone… Scaling can therefore sometimes be sensitive. The subsequent stages of the treatment (polishing and fluoridation) are completely painless. If your scaling should cause significant sensitivity or even pain, don’t hesitate to ask us for an anaesthetic to make your session more pleasant.

Does scaling whiten teeth?

Teeth that are not professionally cared for gradually accumulate not only tartar, but also staining pigments from coffee, tea, red wine, curry, etc. A dental hygiene treatment will remove tartar and stains, making your teeth brighter. But scaling and polishing won’t change the basic shade of your teeth. If you want to change the shade of your teeth, you’ll need to have them whitened.

How many dental hygiene sessions should I do each year?

Once again, there is great inter-individual variation… some people will build up tartar very quickly and be much more prone to gingival inflammation and the development of periodontal disease. An oral health maintenance program may involve a dental hygiene session every 3 months (4 sessions/year) for some situations, and only one session every 18 months for others. Your oral health maintenance program will be set up directly with your dental hygienist in the dental chair.

At what age should a child have his or her teeth cleaned?

Scaling may be necessary for some children who develop a lot of tartar as soon as their permanent teeth appear. It is not advisable to let a large layer of tartar build up on permanent teeth. For children and teenagers, this dental hygiene care can sometimes also be carried out by a prophylaxis assistant rather than a dental hygienist.

Doesn't scaling damage teeth?

Scaling – polishing – fluoridation does absolutely no harm to your teeth, and contributes greatly to maintaining your oral health. It can happen that a filling falls out during scaling… if this were to happen, the filling would in any case have been quickly lost or infiltrated by decay. Think of this incident in a positive light, with the possible need for a new filling, but with the potential to prevent the development of a more serious pathology for your tooth.

Manual or electric toothbrush?

It’s not the toothbrush that cleans your teeth, it’s you! As long as you choose a soft toothbrush, brushing technique is the most important factor and will determine the quality of your tooth brushing. During a dental hygiene treatment, your hygienist will also give you instructions on how to properly care for your teeth at home: brushing technique, interdental cleaning and possible fluoridation. This dental hygiene advice is an integral part of the treatment session.