Preventative Care and Dental Hygiene

One Hour Long Thorough Dental Hygiene Appointments

When you come to StarBrite for your twice-a-year hygiene visits, a lot more happens than just getting your teeth cleaned. That’s why we schedule a full hour, rather than the average 30-45 minutes. Our highly-trained hygienists need that extra time to not only make sure your teeth are free of plaque and tartar, but to assess the overall health of your mouth.

Download Our Dental Hygiene Educational Booklet

Hygiene visits: more than just cleanings

Contrary to what some people think, dental hygienists are not professional tooth-brushers. They are licensed oral health professionals with quite a bit of training under their belts, and they play a critical role in your overall oral health:

Screening for oral cancer

This includes both a visual and manual check for tumors and growths and, if necessary, additional screening with state-of-the-art VELscope technology.
Testing gum tissue response

This identifies areas of bleeding and other signs of gum disease.
Checking for bone loss below the gums

Bone loss is another indicator of an area where gum disease might be occurring.
Providing care instructions

It’s easy for any of us to get a little lazy when it comes to proper brushing and flossing; your hygienist can identify the areas your missing, so you avoid allowing decay to develop.
Answering questions for you

This is especially important at StarBrite Dental, where we want you to be involved in every aspect of your care.

The Training Hygienists Receive

In addition to advanced training in dental sciences and dental hygiene, hygienists go through a specialized course of study that includes chemistry, head and neck anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, microbiology, pathology, nutrition and pharmacology. And before they can graduate, hygienists are required to complete hundreds of hours of supervised clinical instruction.

What to expect during your hygiene visit

A hygienist will carefully examine your teeth, mouth and gums, looking for signs of decay, periodontal disease or other problems. Then, as part of the overall hygiene procedure, your hygienist will thoroughly clean all surfaces of your teeth. Your dental cleaning will be performed with specialized cleaning compounds, surgical-looking instruments specifically designed for cleaning teeth, and technology such as ultrasonic cleansers and rotary instruments. The process is designed to be efficient, effective and comfortable.
Beyond the screening and cleaning

Our hygienists are all trained to use our state-of-the-art dental imaging equipment. They are the ones who will take any x-rays your dentist needs, so the images will be ready and waiting when needed. You hygienist may also be the one to provide certain treatments, such as the application of therapeutic gels and, in the case of advanced periodontal disease, scaling & root planing procedures (removal of debris from below the gum line and the smoothing of exposed portions of the root, which eliminates embedded toxins and microorganisms).

Toward the end of your visit, your hygienist will talk to you about the condition of your teeth and, if you have problems, how they most likely developed and what you can do about them. Your conversation may include recommendations on brushing and flossing techniques, a suggestion to use an electric toothbrush or waterpik, whatever experience and training have shown to be the best options for your particular dental situation

Hygienists are part dietician, as well. You may also come away with some useful information on which foods can contribute to your dental health and which ones you may want to steer clear of.

Cherise Jackson, Lead Hygienist at StarBrite Dental

Our Lead Hygienist: Cherise Jackson

A practicing hygienist for 25 years, Cherise is a knowledgeable, compassionate professional dedicated to getting patients interested in taking an active role in their oral health. For Cherise, and every StarBrite hygienist, a hygiene visit isn’t just teeth-cleaning time blocked on a calendar, it’s an hour spent with an individual whose overall oral health has been entrusted to StarBrite Dental.

We asked Cherise a few questions about what she does here at StarBrite and thought visitors to our website might find her answers interesting:

What is your goal as a dental hygienist?

I try to get all of my patients to become enthusiastic about understanding and maintaining their oral health—not just educating patients in a general way, but fully informing them about their individual oral health situations. I hope that my personal passion for what I do, and my interest in each patient’s individual progress, comes through and inspires people to want to know more.
Is there a “StarBrite difference” that you feel sets your practice apart?

For one thing, StarBrite is a very visual practice. We take state-of-the-art digital x-rays and CT scans that let us show and explain to the patient exactly what is going on inside their mouth. Because they can see it as clearly as we can, and because we take the time to fully explain what they’re seeing, patients come away with a very clear understanding of their oral health.
So, your job is about more than just cleaning teeth.

Absolutely. If a patient’s oral health isn’t where it needs to be, hygienists work alongside dentists to help patients move toward a healthier mouth. Part of that, as a visual-focused practice, is done through videos that show detailed steps to take toward better oral health. For instance, we may show a patient a video about the effects of grinding and clenching the teeth and follow that up with a clear conversation about what might be causing grinding/clenching in the patient’s life. We’ll also talk about how to protect their teeth from being damaged while they sleep.
What other subjects do you talk to patients about?

We talk about how nutrition relates to oral health. We discuss the effect various dental issues can have on a patient’s overall health. Basically, whatever a patient needs to understand. I see it as my duty to help them get the most complete understanding possible.

Almost always, you’ll speak with your dental hygienist both before and after being examined by your dentist.

It’s important time that we urge you to make the most of at every visit. StarBrite hygienists are selected for their professional knowledge, their ability to translate that knowledge into understandable language and their desire to interact with patients, taking a personal interest in each one’s oral health progress.