Paula Reed NEBDN
National Certificate NEBDN
GDC: 125402
GDC: 125402
DENTAL THERAPIST & ORTHO DHT
read moreDental hygienist in Liverpool
A fresh, clean smile. Care that puts you at ease.
Scale and polish in liverpool
At Smileworks we want you to be healthy and care deeply about your wellbeing. For you to enjoy a lifetime of strong teeth, perfect gums and fresh breath, brushing and flossing is not enough.
You cannot keep your mouth healthy without regular dental hygienist appointments. No matter how much teeth cleaning goes on in the bathroom, you’ll not be able to reach bacteria below the gum-line that causes bad breath and gum disease. For that you need a scale and polish from the professionals. If you think you need help with gum disease then follow the link to our gum disease page. For the newest and most exciting hygiene treatment follow the link to Airflow dental treatment.
To book your hygiene appointment, use our 24/7 online booking system or get in touch by calling 0151 236 5166.
Extraordinary patient reviews
Friendly people. Thoughtful care. Hear from patients about their experience at Smileworks.
Benefits of healthy teeth and gums
Here are the benefits of a professional hygiene appointment. Caring for your teeth with regular hygiene appointments may prevent:
- Periodontal disease (gum disease)
- Tooth staining
- Bleeding gums
- Pain and discomfort
- Bad breath
- Tooth decay
- Tooth loss
It’s not just bad breath you need to worry about. Bacteria from periodontal disease has been linked with serious conditions including diabetes, heart attacks kidney disease, asthma and even preterm births.
With this in mind hygiene and oral health is at the centre of what we do at Smileworks and before treatments such as porcelain veneers and braces, you will see our hygienists for teeth scaling and to make sure your mouth is healthy before our cosmetic dentists proceed with their work.
Many of our patients join one of our Smileworks Memberships to better care for their new smiles and keep everything working beautifully for longer.
Scale and polish price
*Most of our patients pay for their treatment monthly on one of our dental memberships*
- Scale and polish | £109.25-£218.50
- Scale and polish (member) | £75
- Check-up (existing patient) | £88.55
- Check-up (new patient) | £90
- Check-up (member) | £54
- Smileworks membership | £21.45
- Enhanced membership | £33.15
- Whitening Club | £25.95
- Brace Club | £34.20
- Essential Health | £45
Your dental hygienist appointment
Dental Hygiene Therapists are different from dentists. They are focussed on preventative care. Sure they can offer you teeth whitening, white fillings and composite bonding but they are here to help you maintain your health. Dental hygiene therapists can do all the things a hygienist can do and more, and won’t cost you extra!
HYGIENE APPOINTMENT STEP BY STEP PROCEDURE
Consultation
You will have ample time with your hygienist to discuss your medical history, any pre-existing conditions and what you hope to achieve from your hygiene appointments. You can discuss anything from bad breath to poorly fitting dentures and tooth wear.
Dental hygiene therapists are more highly trained than hygienists and can also talk to you about whitening, stain removal, broken tooth fillings, old crowns and even your orthodontic treatment! If you require more complex treatment they will arrange for you to be referred to one of our lovely dentists.
Diagnostics
There are a whole range of diagnostics and tests that you can discuss with your hygiene therapist from taking X-rays to charting the progress of gum disease. Of course, x-rays and charting is included in your hygiene fee.
Scale and Polish
The treatment is entirely customised and your hygienist will first carefully assess your mouth with the thoroughness and care you can expect from a private dentist.
For cleaning, we use a specialist instrument called a dental ultrasonic scaler that sprays a tiny jet of air and water below the gum line where floss and interdental brushes cannot reach. This blasts away the plaque, tarter and bacteria leaving your mouth clean and fresh.
Then polish is applied with a small circular buffer that gives you an amazing feeling of freshness and also removes surface staining and makes your smile instantly brighter and white. Here at Smileworks we also have an air abrasion unit which removes tough stains and leaves the teeth naturally white.
This is a jet of air with tiny abrasive particles which gets rid of everything leaving the teeth super clean. Many patients ask, ‘what can a dental hygienist do?’ Well the answer may surprise you. You’ll be surprised to learn how a dental hygiene therapists’ scope of practice is much broader in 2026.
Additional hygienist treatments
Many patients ask, ‘what can a dental hygienist do?’ Well the answer may surprise you. You’ll be surprised to learn how a dental hygiene therapists’ scope of practice is much broader in 2026.
- TEETH WHITENING: Take a look at our teeth whitening page here. Dental hygiene therapists can whiten teeth just like a dentist.
- FLOURIDE VARNISH: This is an intensive dentist-strength preparation that prevents bacteria from causing tooth decay and is extremely effective.
- ORAL HYGIENE INSTRUCTION: This is possibly the most important part of your hygiene appointment! Especially if you have gum disease. There is a lot of work that needs to be done by you to stabilise gum disease and most of this happens at home. Therefore it’s vitally important that you are handy with a Tepe brush and know what you’re doing while looking after your own teeth.
- TOOTH FILLINGS: Your dental hygiene therapist will be able to fix any decay there and then with fillings and replace amalgam with white fillings for you.
- ICON WHTE SPOT REMOVAL: Take a look here to learn more about ICON white spot removal. It is a simple process for removing white or dark patches on the teeth caused by fluorosis.
- FISSURE SEALANT: This is a sealant that closes tiny cracks in the enamel that can harbour bacteria and cause tooth decay. A wonderful preventative treatment, fissure sealant can literally stop tooth decay in its tracks.
- STOP SMOKING: We don’t like smoking at Smileworks because it is really, really bad for your health and most of the times we cannot help a patient with cosmetic dentistry will be because they smoke. So we try very hard to help people give up smoking and have access to a wealth of information and advice to help you quit for good.
- GUM DISEASE TREATMENT: Our healthcare providers are experts in treating gum disease from early inflammation to advanced periodontal disease and some of our happiest patients have worked in partnership with our team to stabilise gum disease using an advanced range of treatments including antibiotics, fluoride applications and frequent scaling and debridement.
Your clinicians
Emma Hindle
DIPDH (RCS) DIPDT (RCS)
GDC: 252153
GDC: 252153
Dental Therapist
read more
Khalid Ahmed
BSc, DIPDH (Cardiff)
GDC: 164607
GDC: 164607
Dental Therapist
read moreHealthy mouth FAQ
How often do I book hygiene appointments?
If you have good oral hygiene and look after your mouth then your hygienist will likely recommend two visits a year. Patients with gum disease typically visit four times per year.
Do I need a dental check up first?
If you are a new patient you will need a check up with a dentist first before seeing a dental hygienist or dental hygiene therapist. You can do this in one single appointment and do not need to come on two different days. This is a legal requirement to keep you safe as every mouth is different.
How often do I get a scale and polish
If you have good oral hygiene at home and are taking care of your teeth your hygienist or therapist will recommend you visit for an appointment twice a year. For people with gum disease or who want to stabilise their advanced periodontal disease, then four times or more a year is recommended and the appointments will be longer. At Smileworks Your hygiene therapist will want to scale your teeth at each visit whether you attend every six months or every three months. It is not recommended for your dental health that you attend less than twice yearly for hygiene appointments.
How long does each part of the consultation last?
The consultation lasts about 20 minutes and the cleaning the rest of the time. Depending on how long you have booked for, the different parts of the consultation and treatment may take different times. A new or first time patient may spend longer with people in the practice getting to know the place and getting comfortable with new people and a new facility.
What’s the length of a hygiene appointment?
Hygienist appointments are tailored to you and depending on factors such as how much you want to pay and whether you have gum disease they can be 30, 60, 75 or 90 minutes.
How do I maintain healthy gums?
To maintain healthy gums you must visit the dentist and oral hygienist regularly and also maintain good and regular oral hygiene at home. This includes brushing, flossing and intra-oral brushing with Tepe brushes. It is not enough to visit your hygienist and do nothing at home. Neither is it enough to have excellent at-home oral hygiene and avoid the dentist. Both are required for a healthy mouth.
Does a scale and polish hurt?
A scale and polish should not hurt. If you are fearful or have things in your mouth causing you pain then your dental hygiene therapist will use numbing cream or local anaesthetic to completely numb your mouth during the procedure. Modern dentistry doesn't hurt - that is a myth. Our professionals are very highly trained and experienced in making sure you are comfortable during your treatment. At Smileworks we want you to be healthy and if patients are avoiding the dentist because of fear and pain then we cannot do our jobs. So we take your comfort very seriously. You may not know that gum disease itself and many of the problems associated with not looking after your teeth do not hurt either. This is why some people can get very bad gum disease and not have treatment. It is one of the few diseases that does not hurt and so it goes unnoticed by patients. Abscesses and loose fillings and sensitivity do hurt though. And these can be common alongside your gum disease.
Visit Smileworks
Find us at One Park West, 1a Kenyons Steps, Liverpool L1 3DF.