Most of us understand the importance of regularly visiting our dentist.  However, there’s perhaps less understanding of the role of the dental hygienist.

Tavistock House Dental Practice’s highly experienced hygienists help you look after your teeth by polishing unsightly surface stains and advising you of the best way to look after your teeth and gums.

In addition to advising you about areas you might be missing, they also remove the hard and rough scale deposits (“calculus” or “tartar”) from above and below the gum line.  These scale deposits are harmless if kept clean.  However, the presence of these hard deposits makes cleaning the tooth surface difficult and compromises hygiene efforts at home.  As a result, scale left above and below the gum line can harbour bacteria, causing gum inflammation (gums go red and start to bleed).  If this becomes chronic the bone supporting the tooth can recede and the tooth may eventually become loose or even be lost.  Accumulated bacteria is also a cause of bad breath.

Why should I visit a hygienist?

A clean and healthy mouth can help to provide confidence with fresh breath and improved appearance, but most importantly to prevent tooth decay and loss of supporting bone. Your hygienist can dramatically reduce the need for active treatment, whilst ensuring the longevity of fillings and other more complex work.

Our practice has four hygienists who work Monday to Friday including early mornings and some evenings.

You can find out more about the hygienist team here:
Hygienists

You can request a dental or hygienist appointment here:
Appointments

We would like to welcome our newest member of the Tavistock Team - Rebecca Gilroy! Rebecca qualified from the Eastman Dental Hospital in 2017, and having previously worked as a dental nurse for several years as well, she brings a wealth of experience to her role here at Tavistock House. She is currently studying a Postgraduate Diploma in Periodontics and on qualification will become one of a small number of Advanced Hygienist's in the world at present.

Rebecca has a keen interest in the relationship between gum health and general health, and in particular, understanding how we can improve our general health through keeping our gums clean and healthy.

Rebecca takes pride in helping anxious patients feel at ease and always provides a level of excellence to everyone in her care.

When she is not at work she enjoys travelling and spending time with her family.

It is all too easy to neglect dental health, but as with most things in life – prevention is better than cure.  Teeth help us to consume food, chew, and aid in communication.  A healthy smile is a confident smile, so here Tavistock shares their top tips to avoid oral health problems:

1. Brush twice daily to prevent decay, gum disease and bad breath. Preferably brush after breakfast and before bedtime, for a full 2 minutes, moving to a different quadrant of the mouth every 30 seconds.
2. Use a good quality fluoride toothpaste and - if possible - an electric toothbrush.
3. Change your toothbrush (or the head on your electric brush) every 3 months.
4. Spit – don’t rinse. This allows the fluoride more time to be effective.
5. Use floss or the correct sized interdental brush every day.
6. Visit your dentist every six months and your hygienist every 3-6 months as advised.
7. Avoid snacking on sugary foods, or try to restrict them to straight after mealtimes.
8. Pass on good habits: teach your children good oral hygiene as soon as possible, supervise brushing until at least age seven, and get them in to see the dentist as soon as their first tooth appears.

Tavistock can help.  We can show you how best to brush your teeth and give you specific advice on what is best for your personal oral hygiene routine.  Request an appointment now.

On Saturday 17^th May our lovely Receptionist Sarah completed the Walk to Walk Marathon (26.2 Miles) for Breast Cancer in 9hours and 4mins. She would like to thank every single patient and staff member who sponsored her and is happy to say she raised £645 which Tavistock House is also very kindly donation matching which brings the grand total to £1290 which is an amazing amount of money.

We have now invested in some new toothbrushes and interdental brushes that are Eco Friendly.

Toothbrushes - are plastic-free, with a biodegradable handle.

Interdental brushes - are sustainable and biodegradable, each pack has a variety of different sizes in to suit all needs.

On Monday 24^th March all of the Tavistock Team took part in a refresher for Basic Life Support Training.

They are all now retrained in CPR and using the defibrillator if required.

We are an “Invisalign GO” practice as Henrietta has completed her certification to become an Invisalign GO provider.

This is a system which uses clear plastic aligners which focusses on your front teeth and gradually move them into a more aesthetic position.

Using up to 20 aligners, in many cases treatment can be completed in as little as 6 months!