Role of a Dental Hygienist/Dental Therapists

Dental hygienists are uniquely qualified to assist in the prevention and treatment of oral disease, focusing on periodontal health by monitoring oral hygiene practises and assisting the patient to develop a home care plan to maintain their oral health. As well as performing scaling and polishing, hygienists can give specific advice on;

• prevention
• nutrition
• use of fluoride
• smoking cessation

Dental therapists perform routine scale and polishing of teeth as well as placing restorations in deciduous and permanent teeth, placing preformed crowns and the extraction of deciduous teeth under local anaesthesia.

Once qualified, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is important in order to keep skills and knowledge up to date. At BDHA CPD events a 'Certificate of Attendance' is issued to indicate that the course meets the criteria of the GDC lifelong learning scheme.