I agree Muddy, never seen a hygienist I reckon they are a waste of space and money. Brush yer teeth twice a day and you won’t go far wrong. If they removed all of the plaque from my teeth they would probably fall to bits.
Hygienists are just one of those new made up jobs like cleaners to clean out your wheelie bin and jet wash yer drive.
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I haven’t got shares in a hygienist practice, honest 
And it is horribly expensive and should be provided on the NHS
But I think it’s worth it, especially as we get older.
Gum disease is a major cause of tooth loss and receding gums in older people and I want to keep what I’ve got
And gum disease and plaque cause smelly breath and discoloured teeth and I don’t want to be that old lady
The advice on teeth cleaning is sound enough, although they do like to make a couple of bob flogging you interdental brushes 
This time she was telling me not to use mouthwash too often to prevent gum disease because it kills off the good bacteria as well as the bad
And she recommended rinsing with mild warm salt water now and then ( but making sure you don’t swallow it as bad for blood pressure)
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I suppose I’m lucky in that I’ve just paid £65 for a gum scrape and polish at my hygienist last week.
My grand dad did that .
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Yes that’s not bad at all .
Tooth loss and receding gums…At 73 I think that ship has sailed Maree…I don’t have smelly breath, or gum disease, at least Mrs Fox says not, but my teeth are not as white as Donny Osmonds, but I don’t need anyone telling how to care for my teeth (other than the dentist) keeping them clean is all you can do, and at 73 I can still munch my way through Apples and a Greggs Baguette. I can’t take my eyes off someone’s mouth when they are talking with bright white teeth, It’s like when they have a piercing on their face 
they look so unnatural.
My dentist agrees with your Hygienist about the mouthwash destroying the good bacteria, so as long as they last another 25 years, I won’t be needing them anymore… Heart will give out before the teeth.
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Another post regarding the dentist thread. I am starting to look forward to the possibility of an implant, filling a gap, and go back to normal talking challenges :). Its amazing what a good cup of coffee with an expresso shot can do for my mental perspective.
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Seriously I never met anyone who enjoyed the experience, including myself.
It’s only taken me 60 plus years to conquer the shakes and the sweats at the prospect of an imminent dental appointment.
I’m still working on it - maybe one day i might get to like it who knows? 
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I’ve been trying to come to terms with dental phobia nearly all my life, thanks to the brutal treatment I used to get when I was a kid. Having racked up many hours in the dreaded chair, I have (more or less) got over it. My last remaining dental phobia is extractions which I would normally pay the extra and have sedation. Unfortunately, a few years ago, I had a molar turn bad and had to have it out ‘cold’ in an emergency clinic, during which it shattered as it was being pulled and had to have each root pulled out separately, leaving me somewhat traumatised afterwards. If I had to have another out, sedation is really the only way to go for me unless I had no option.
Teeth are wonderful things…until they go wrong.
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Graham ouch. Sedation is the answer!
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Had my face slapped by the dentist when I was about 8 . The reason being I wouldn’t open my mouth because I was too scared. He was a complete butcher . I never did get over that and I have always hated going to the dentist.
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What?? Unbelievable anyone could do that!
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This was in the early 60’s . Times were different then. I never went back to that dentist.
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In short, no!
I hate going to the dentist…
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I think she is working on his milk-teeth.
… I’ll get my coat.
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I’m lucky that I’ve never had a bad experience at a dental surgery. Pre-teens I had a dentist when I lived in Lincolnshire called Mister Gibson. I remember having seven teeth out; four by being gassed, two more by being gassed, and one under local anaesthetic.
All calm, and most importantly, painless.
In my teens, my dentist in Yorkshire was a Mister Terry, who was a comedian, but only to patients he knew could take his type of humour.
There were stains on a couple of ceiling tiles caused by a leaking roof, but he said they were caused by blood splatter from a previous victim.
Other comments would be along the lines of, “Don’t worry, I scraped the rust off the instruments before you arrived,” or,
“I sharpened the syringe needles on the doorstep when I left home.”
When I moved to Somerset I did actually enjoy visiting the dentist, but that was because I got to snog the young nurse before walking her home. She actually filled one of my teeth when I needed a filling replaced. Ain’t love grand!
I’ve worked my way through several dentists since then, always as an NHS patient. I’ve only had to have remedial work done to repair previous fillings and a crown, plus the odd wash and brush up, but always by the dentist, never a hygienist.
I suppose my good experiences when I was little, and when I was growing up have helped me to have no fear of subsequent visits in my dotage.
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Mrs Fox visited her dentist after giving birth to our daughter. She exclaimed to the dentist that she didn’t know which was worse, having a baby or having a tooth out…The dentist replied…“Make up your mind, I’ve tools for both”…
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@Aniseknow the feeling…I wouldn’t have gone except it turns out I had an inflamed nerve in one of my teeth. I thought it was a cavity… takes me a day to recover from my body’s reaction to dental work…
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I personally love going to the dentist. Having a career where I help people all day, it feels really good to have someone taking care of me. I work with a lot of people who have dentures and I have a personal goal to keep all of my teeth. Regular trips to the dentist is the only way that’s going to happen.
Just a thought,
Ken
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It’s not as easy as that in the UK Ken.
If people haven’t much spare brass, going to the dentist is way down on their list of priorities.
Dentists on the NHS are in short supply, and it still costs quite a bit for fillings, descale, clean and polish. And if you go to a private dentist it will cost you a kings ransom that only the well off can afford.
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