Dental Hygiene Middlesbrough

Hygiene appointments start from £69. An appointment including airflow stain removal is £99, or airflow can be added to a standard appointment for £35. If you're on Denplan Essentials, two hygiene visits a year are included in your monthly payment.

Every six months suits most people, but if you've had gum disease, smoke, or build up tartar quickly, three or four monthly visits keep things far more stable. We've recently increased our hygiene capacity, so getting an appointment when you need one is much easier than it used to be.

It shouldn't be more than mildly uncomfortable. If your gums are inflamed to begin with they'll be more sensitive, which is exactly the point at which cleaning helps most - and it gets easier at every subsequent visit as the inflammation settles. Tell your hygienist if you're sensitive and they'll work around it.

A jet of fine powder, warm water and air that lifts stain from tea, coffee, red wine and smoking, and cleans areas a traditional polish struggles to reach. Most people notice the difference immediately. It's £35 on top of a standard appointment, or £99 for an appointment with it included.

It removes surface staining, so your teeth will look brighter and cleaner - but it doesn't change the natural shade of the tooth underneath. If you want them genuinely lighter, that's teeth whitening, and a hygiene visit beforehand makes the whitening work better anyway.

No, and it's worth acting on. Bleeding gums are a sign of inflammation, and left alone that can progress to gum disease and bone loss around the teeth. It's very treatable in the early stages, so book in rather than brushing more gently and hoping it settles.