3 Reasons to Be Thankful for Dental Hygienists

If you’ve been to the dentist’s for a checkup recently, hopefully you got to spend time with your dentist and gained some valuable insight from them regarding your oral health. However, you probably noticed that the person doing a lot of the heavy lifting during your appointment wasn’t the dentist, but the dental hygienist.

Dental hygienists are knowledgeable, dedicated professionals that don’t get nearly the credit that they deserve. Here are a few things your dental hygienist will do that deserve some recognition.

Routine Cleaning

As you can imagine, most dental offices handle dozens of routine checkups a week, and while treatment is tailored to each individual patient, large portions of each appointment look pretty similar. Dental hygienists often handle cleanings that take place at routine visits, and even deeper cleanings to remove profound tartar buildup.

Patient Education

While the work that happens at the office is important, what’s arguably more crucial is the dental care that happens at home. That means that patient education is one of the most important things for oral health professionals to do.

This is typically the responsibility of dental hygienists who walk patients through what they could be doing better in terms of hygiene. This can involve offering tailored advice as to what they need to focus on, and detailed instructions for how best to brush or floss.

X-rays and Screening

Your dentist often incorporates X-rays into their understanding of patients’ mouths, but that’s only possible if the X-rays exist in the first place. For that reason, most patients will need multiple X-rays over the course of any given appointment.

This would be time-consuming for the dentist to do themselves, so the dental hygienists are often the ones who perform the dental X-rays that the dentist needs.

Administering Local Anesthesia

Nowadays, nearly every dental procedure involves some form of local anesthesia so that the patient can be completely comfortable for the duration of treatment. This is even done for some treatments that the dental hygienist handles, like cleanings. As such, dental hygienists are often the ones to administer local anesthesia before treatment begins.

As you can see, a dental hygienist does quite a bit over the course of any given day. Next time you meet yours, you should be sure to let them know that you’re thankful for all that they do!

About Our Practice

At Dentistry of Wisconsin, we believe that everyone we see deserves to have a strong, healthy smile. That’s why we do what we can to make oral healthcare as convenient and high-quality as possible for our patients. Unlike some dental offices that almost make you feel like you’re intruding, we’ll ensure that you’re listened to and cared for across every step of treatment.

If you have any questions about dental hygienists, we can be reached at our website or by phone at (920) 324-3881.