Teeth hygiene and cleaning

Prevention is the ideal treatment

We want to prevent disease before it occurs. Many people are unaware of the vital role hygienists play in maintaining the health of your teeth and gums. This is the main ethos behind our Membership Plan – maintain the health of your teeth and gums with regular visits.

Our hygienists Leanne, Kerry and Ruth would be delighted to meet you and create a bespoke oral health plan for you.

If you are concerned about bleeding gums, bad breath, loosening teeth or you know you have problems with gum disease – we are here to help.
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What our hygienists can do for you:

  • Boost your confidence by improving your appearance and giving you fresher breath
  • Reduce your risk of heart attack, coronary heart disease and stroke;
  • Slow the progression of gum disease if present;
  • Reduce your risk of tooth decay – that means fewer visits to the dentist!

Give your teeth a spring clean

No matter how hard you try with regular brushing and flossing it is inevitable that plaque will slowly build up on your teeth. If left unchecked, this hardens to a much nastier substance – tartar.

Tartar can form on your teeth and underneath the gumline. A build-up of tartar can lead to a variety of different conditions, ranging from cosmetic issues to more serious problems like gum disease, cavities and tooth loss.

A professional scale and polish by your hygienist or dentist is the only way to remove tartar whilst giving your teeth a good spring clean. Our hygienists are also experts at removing common stains from teeth, especially using Airflow.

We prevent

Preventative dentistry is what we're all about, to help you reduce the need for and dental treatment in the future 

We're calming

We provide sedative solutions for nervous patients during hygiene visits

We're friendly

We are committed to a gentle, caring and friendly approach.

We have a 
membership plan

We've the option of private dental membership
Oral hygiene
Another important role of the hygienist is to help you develop a more effective cleaning regime at home.

This may include showing you how to use special tools such as interdental brushes, advice on tooth brushing techniques and which type of toothpaste to use.

Early treatment of gum disease can help avoid contracting infections which in turn can complicate conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. Regular visits to your dentist and hygienist increase the likelihood of early diagnosis of gum disease and other diseases including oral cancer.

Frequently asked questions

  • Who are dental hygienists?

    Dental hygienists are specially trained to work with the dentist in giving dental care to patients. They play a very important role and are mainly concerned with ensuring and maintaining total oral health.

    They undertake a two-year course to obtain a Diploma in Dental Hygiene. A three-year degree course is also available. The General Dental Council has approved the use of the letters EDH as a short title for Enrolled Dental Hygienists.

  • Does every dental practice have a hygienist?

    Not all practices have a dental hygienist. But more of them offer this service to patients, using part-time or full time hygienists. At our practice, due to the huge value seen by our patients, we find that our hygienist preventative programme is extremely popular.

  • What do they do?

    Dental hygienists help prevent dental disease. One of their skills is to carefully remove hard deposits of calculus (tartar) and by coaching you to prevent it forming again. Dental hygienists are also trained to recognise and deal with a host of other dental needs.


    Dental hygienists have both clinical and health promotional responsibilities. Clinically they help to treat and prevent periodontal (gum) disease by scaling and polishing teeth, applying prophylactic and anti-microbial materials, they can take dental radiographs and undertake monitoring and screening procedures. Dental hygienists are also permitted to apply topical fluorides and fissure sealants in order to reduce dental caries (tooth decay).


    Their health promotional role includes motivating and encouraging individuals and groups in oral health practices including oral hygiene and diet advice.


    A dental hygienist may:

    • Monitor gum (periodontal) disease by using current indices.
    • Monitor plaque scores
    • Provide oral hygiene advice
    • Give specific preventive advice including nutritional guidance, advice and use of fluoride agents and the benefits of smoking cessation.
    • Develop a home care plan for individual patients to maintain oral health.
    • Perform scaling above and below the gum.
    • Comprehensive hand scaling of the root surface (debridement).
    • Provide a thorough polishing.
    • Apply fissure sealants.
    • Placement of local anaesthetic when necessary.
    • Placing of anti-microbial agents when necessary.
  • Why is this treatment so important?

    Regular professional cleaning combined with coaching to improve your homecare will ensure huge dental benefits. A clean and healthy mouth improves your appearance and gives you fresh breath. However, research has shown that good cleaning significantly reduces the risk of filling replacement, new cavities, gum recession, food trapping and teeth drifting. Gum disease is also linked to heart disease and there are concerns about poor gum health and pregnancy.

  • Why doesn't the dentist do this work?

    The dentists recognise that the hygienist is specially trained for cleaning and will spend much longer with you. They are also experts in coaching and motivating you to correctly look after your teeth and gums.

  • Will it hurt?

    Simple scaling and polishing is usually pain free. Patients who have not seen a hygienist before or have large deposits of calculus can experience some discomfort.


    At Comber Dental Practice we have taken extensive steps to reduce discomfort:

    • By increasing the appointment times, the procedure is slower, gentler and thorough.
    • Special instruments have been imported to allow cleaning in a more gentle manner.
    • Use of local anasthetic when necessary.
    • Use of relative analgesia ( laughing gas ) when necessary.
  • How much does it cost?

    Our current charges are £50 for half hour and £33 for twenty minutes, if applicable. Our membership plan has been designed to spread the cost of hygeine visits. Your dentist and hygeinist can advise you which category will suit you best.


    We recommend REGULAR dental hygiene care. All research demonstrates that a clean and healthy mouth is the simplest way to stop expensive dental repairs.

General dental council
the dentistry awards
The regulation and quality improvement authority

You deserve a great dentist

Click below to discover the reasons why you should join our dental membership plan
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