Dental hygiene appointments
- Caitlin Miller, Head of Dental Hygiene and Therapy at Bupa Dental Care
Dental hygiene (also known as oral health care) is the practice of keeping your teeth, gums, and mouth healthy. A dental hygiene appointment is when you see a dental hygienist (or therapist) who helps to support you in looking after your oral health.
Sometimes, your dental hygienist might clean your teeth professionally as part of your appointment, to remove any plaque and tartar.
What is a dental hygienist?
The first step to taking good care of your teeth and gums is to brush your teeth and clean in between them regularly at home. This helps to get rid of plaque — a sticky film of bacteria that builds up on your teeth when you eat. But there are some places that your toothbrush can’t reach. And if plaque builds up, it can harden into tartar, which can’t be removed by brushing alone. This is where a dental hygienist can help.
A dental hygienist is a registered dental professional who works alongside your dentist. They specialise in cleaning your teeth and helping to keep your mouth healthy. A dental hygienist can also:
- assess your gum health
- show you how to clean your teeth effectively at home
- give you diet and lifestyle advice to help keep your teeth and gums healthy
How often you should have your teeth cleaned will depend on your dental health. Once or twice a year is enough for most people. But if you’re at risk of tooth decay or gum disease, your hygienist might ask to see you more often.
The cost of a dental hygienist appointment can vary depending on the exact treatment you’re having, where you live, and which practice you go to. Your local practice will explain the cost when you call to book your appointment.
Interested in hygiene treatment?
Get in touch with your nearest Bupa practice. They can help you book a hygiene appointment and answer any queries.
What are the benefits of seeing a dental hygienist?
It’s a good idea to see your dental hygienist at least once or twice a year. Professional teeth cleaning can help to keep your teeth and gums healthy and prevent problems from developing in the future. A dental hygiene appointment can:
- remove bacteria, plaque and tartar from hard-to-reach areas
- lower your risk of tooth decay and gum disease
- keep your breath fresh
- remove stains and brighten your teeth
- get support to quit smoking, if you need to
- learn how to take proper care of your teeth and gums at home
- avoid expensive dental treatments in the future
- improve the success of gum disease treatment, if necessary
- help improve your general health
4 reasons to visit the dental hygienist
Discover the benefits you get from an appointment with the dental hygienist | Watch in 0:35 minutes
Four reasons why you should visit your dental hygienist.
One, more adult teeth are lost as a result of gum disease versus other issues such as tooth decay.
Two, if you're considering a treatment such as dental implant and teeth straightening, you may need a deep clean before commencing the treatment.
Three, regular teeth cleaning can help you to keep brighter and whiter teeth.
This can be done through scaling and polishing, but some of our practices can offer more advanced therapies such as airflow.
Types of professional teeth cleaning
There are different ways your dental hygienist can clean your teeth, depending on your needs. These may include the following techniques..
Removal of plaque and calculus (also known as scale and polish).
This is when your dental hygienist uses dental instruments to gently remove plaque and tartar from your teeth. They might also use a paste to polish the surface of your teeth (the tooth enamel), removing stains and leaving your teeth clean and shiny. This is also known as prophylaxis.
Fluoride treatments.
If your hygienist thinks you’re at risk of tooth decay, they might apply a varnish or gel that contains fluoride to the surface of your teeth. Fluoride is a mineral that helps to strengthen your tooth enamel and reduce the chance of holes (cavities) forming in your teeth.
AIR-FLOW therapy.
This treatment uses air, water, and fine powder particles to deeply clean your teeth and gums. It can be used alongside a traditional scale and polish and helps to improve the appearance and colour of your teeth.
Dental sealants.
This is when your dental hygienist applies a thin, protective coating to your back teeth, which have deep grooves used for chewing. These grooves can trap food and bacteria, leading to cavities. The sealant helps keep those particles out, protecting your teeth from decay.
Deep cleaning.
If you have gum disease, your dentist or hygienist might suggest a deep cleaning procedure known as professional mechanical plaque removal (PMPR). to do this, they’ll remove plaque and tartar from above or below your gumline. It’s usually done using a local anaesthetic to reduce any pain and helps to reduce bacteria and encourage gum healing.
Helpful advice on how to brush your teeth
How to clean your teeth with Bupa Dental Care | Watch in 1:13 minutes
Make sure you're brushing your teeth correctly, watch our short video about the do's and don'ts of brushing your teeth.
Maintain your oral hygiene with a dental payment plan
Bupa Smile Plan is a proactive approach to protecting your oral health. It’s an annual plan of routine private check-up and hygiene appointments, which allows you to spread the cost across 12 bite-sized monthly payments.
For most patients, two check-ups and two hygiene appointments each year is sufficient to help you maintain good oral health**. However, some patients may have different needs or preferences. For example, you may wish to have extra hygiene appointments if you’ve suffered with gum disease, or you’ve had an implant placed – you can select this option when you sign up.
Benefits of a dental payment plan
Regular monitoring means that your dentist can spot the signs of any potential oral concerns. With early intervention, your dentist can manage them before they become bigger issues, or even avoid them altogether.
Check-up and hygiene appointments which are included in your plan will be up to 10% less than if you booked them as standalone appointments*. Plus, you’ll get 10% off a range of selected private treatments ᶧ.
What happens during a dental hygiene appointment?
Routine dental cleaning usually involves a scale and polish, sometimes along with fluoride treatment. It takes less than an hour and shouldn’t feel painful. But if you have sensitive teeth or feel uncomfortable, your hygienist can apply a numbing gel or give you an injection to numb the area first.
Your dental hygienist will start by examining your head, neck and mouth to check for any problems. If they suspect you have gum disease, your hygienist can treat this. If you have tooth decay or anything else, they’ll refer you to a dental therapist or dentist for treatment..
Plaque and calculus removal
Your dental hygienist will scrape any plaque and tartar from your teeth using an instrument called a scaler. They’ll concentrate especially on areas your toothbrush can’t reach.
AIR-FLOW therapy
If you’re having AIR-FLOW therapy, they’ll also spray pressurised air, water, and a fine powder between your teeth to remove any stains.
Polishing
If necessary, your hygienist will polish your teeth using a special paste. This helps to remove any stains from the surface of your teeth (the tooth enamel) without damaging it.
Applying fluoride
Finally, your hygienist might use a small brush to apply a fluoride gel, paste or varnish to the surface of your teeth. Fluoride is a mineral added to tap water and most toothpastes. It helps to strengthen the hard outer layer of your teeth (the tooth enamel) and prevent tooth decay. It hardens straight away, so you can go home afterwards, but wait 30 minutes before eating.
What to do after a dental hygiene appointment
Before you leave, your hygienist will share tips and advice on taking care of your teeth at home. This might include nutrition advice like cutting down on sugar to prevent tooth decay, or lifestyle changes such as quitting smoking if you need to. They’ll also show you techniques you can use at home that will help you to care for your teeth and gums. This could include the following:
- Use dental floss, an interdental brush or water flosser to clean between your teeth before you brush.
- Brush your teeth twice a day, for at least 2 minutes, using a fluoride toothpaste.
- Avoid scrubbing and brush gently in a circular motion.
- Make sure you brush every tooth and along your gumline.
- Brush your tongue to get rid of bacteria and bad breath.
- Don’t rinse your mouth with water after brushing – it’ll wash away the fluoride. You can rinse with a fluoride mouthwash if your hygienist recommends.
What happens if you don't follow aftercare advice?
Kerry Allen, Dental Hygienist | Watch in 1:10 minutes
Have you been given aftercare advice from your dentist following treatment? Watch this short video and find out what could happen if you don't follow it.
What happens if you don't follow aftercare advice?
Hi, I'm Kerry Allen.
I'm a dental hygienist and therapist at Bupa Dental Care.
With any dental procedure, whether it's fillings, root canal treatment, extractions, or the big one these days, cosmetic treatment, aftercare is super important.
For example, if we're looking at something like tooth whitening, which is getting more and more popular these days, if you don't follow the aftercare, then you're not going to get the results that you're hoping to see.
So the best way to ensure it lasts is by following the simple aftercare rules that we give you.
For example, not drinking things that are going to stain your teeth straight away.
Ideally, you shouldn't be smoking if you're having tooth whitening, but at the very least, try not to smoke.
Simple things — because if you don't follow the guidance we've given you, that excellent result we've achieved initially is going to fade very quickly and you're not going to be happy with the outcome.
Another big one these days that we get asked a lot about is Invisalign, and again, it gives great results, but the aftercare is just as important as the treatment itself, and we're here every step of the way to help you with that.
``Dental check-up appointments
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Gum disease
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- Park BY, Kim M, et al. Research on dental plaque removal methods for efficient oral prophylaxis: With a focus on air polishing and rubber cup polishing. Int J Dent Hyg 2021; 19(3):255–61. doi: 10.1111/idh.12481
- Pit and fissure sealants. Oral Health Foundation. dentalhealth.org, accessed October 2024
- Dental hygienists. The British Society of Dental Hygiene and Therapy. bsdht.org.uk, accessed October 2024
- Scaling and root planing. American Dental Association. ada.org, accessed October 2024
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- PMPR. Periodontal Care (Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme). periodontalcare.scdep.org.uk, accessed August 2025
- Michelle Harrison, Freelance Health Editor
Our information has been awarded the PIF tick for trustworthy health information.
†10% discount applies to: fillings, inlays and onlays, emergency appointments, dentures, bridges, crowns, gum disease treatment (non-surgical), hygiene services, tooth extractions (non-surgical), additional X-rays required.
*Equivalent appointment prices of included treatments (check-up & hygiene appointments) are an average of 10% less than when booked as a standalone appointment. (77% of 332 participating practices.)
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Bupa Dental Care is a trading name of Oasis Dental Care Limited. Registered in England and Wales No: 00478127. Registered office: Bupa Dental Care, Vantage Office Park, Old Gloucester Road, Hambrook, Bristol, United Kingdom BS16 1GW.
Oasis Dental Care Limited has a number of trading names including Bupa Dental Care. Please see the list of all our different trading names.
