Dental Hygiene

Dental Hygiene involves treatments that deal with cleaning and maintaining healthy teeth and gums.

This includes plaque removal and polishing, tooth whitening, gum treatment, dental care advice, sealant, and fluoride application. The treatments are done by the dentist or oral hygienist.

What is an dentalhygienist, and what is his/her job?

Dental hygienists work with oral and dental hygiene. Their job is fundamentally different from that of a dental assistant in that they not only assist the dentist but can also perform certain dental procedures under dentist supervision:

• they complete health-promoting treatments
• they promote dental-care and good habits
• they motivate and instruct the patient

Dental hygiene is a separate field of study, usually obtained by dental assistants as a higher level of training.