Studies & Degrees in Dental Hygiene

Choose where you would like to study Dental Hygiene:

Having a clean mouth and good set of teeth is important not only in achieving a winning smile. More than just merely looking and feeling good, proper dental hygiene is essential in maintaining good oral health. Poor dental hygiene can lead to a variety of oral health problems such as bad breath, gum disease, infection, tooth decay and others. Further more, certain diseases have also been found to be linked to poor dental hygiene. These systemic diseases include cardiovascular diseases, diabetes complications and bacterial pneumonia, among others.

That is why in the maintenance of good dental hygiene and the prevention and treatment of dental diseases, the assistance of a professional is important. A dentist or a dental hygienist is a licensed professional who specializes in keeping smiles picture perfect by helping in the prevention and treatment of oral diseases that normally come about without the right health practices.

Proper dental hygiene practices done at home can only go as far as maintenance. For the avoidance of problems arising from poor dental hygiene, as well as the various systemic diseases linked to it, professional care is important. A dental care professional can perform various measures such as imparting helpful information, cleaning and, of course, treating various oral diseases.

Care procedure done by a dental professional includes a number of steps, and the effectiveness of the procedure may be reevaluated over a period of months or years. First, the patient will undergo a complete assessment. This may include reviewing the patient’s medical history, dental hygiene practices, and dental health evaluation. Once the cause of any existing dental health problem has been established, the professional will then come up with a plan, which usually involves several different series of treatments, depending on the patient’s immediate needs.

After coming up with a treatment plan, execution of such plan is the next step. This part involves frequent clinical visits for treatment, combined with common dental practices as instructed by the professional, which will be carried out by the patient at home, such as proper brushing or avoidance of certain food and beverage.

At the end of the course of treatment, an evaluation will be performed. This will help the professional establish whether the treatment received by the patient has been effective or not. As mentioned earlier, care procedure may be reevaluated after some time, depending on the outcome of the treatment.

While, generally, dental professionals recommend professional cleaning to be done at least twice per year, maintenance of good dental hygiene is done at home. Regular tooth brushing is helpful in preventing cavities and gum diseases. Most professionals recommend the use of toothbrush labeled as “soft” to prevent eroding the tooth enamel and irritating the gums. The use of toothpaste and mouthwash is also recommended, paired with limitation or restriction of food and beverage that are known to cause damage to overall dental health, such as foods with high sugar content or beverages that stain the teeth.