Dental Hygienist & Hygiene Services in Edinburgh
Gum disease is the most common reason adults lose teeth, and it rarely hurts until it's advanced. Regular hygiene visits remove the plaque that brushing can't, keep your gums healthy, and catch problems early. At City Dental Care on Earl Grey Street, private hygiene is direct access: you can book online without a dentist check-up first, and without leaving your own practice. You can choose a standard hygiene appointment or Guided Biofilm Therapy (GBT) by EMS — and hygiene visits are included in our Practice Plans: standard visits in Plans A and B, GBT in Plans C and D.
Transparent pricing
Hygiene appointment £65Perio (gum disease) appointment £95GBT Guided Biofilm Therapy £110
If your gums need the longer perio appointment, your therapist will tell you why and what it costs before it is booked. It is not something you have to choose between.
Practice Plans from £19.50 a month (plus a one-off £9.50 joining fee, not charged again if you change plan or continue into another year) include two or four hygiene visits a year.
Signs You're Due a Hygiene Visit
- Gums that bleed when you brush or floss
- Bad breath that brushing doesn't shift
- Visible tartar - hard, yellow or brown deposits near the gumline
- Gums that look red, swollen or are pulling back from the teeth
- Staining from coffee, tea, wine or smoking
- It's been more than a year
Private Hygiene: No Dentist Check-up Needed First
Private hygiene is direct access: you can book a private hygiene appointment with our hygienist or dental therapist without seeing a dentist first. NHS hygiene treatment needs a prescription from one of our dentists, so NHS patients see a dentist first.
Dental Hygienist or Dental Therapist: Who You'll See
Our hygiene appointments are carried out by two clinicians. Zoe Kemp is registered with the General Dental Council as a dental hygienist and a dental therapist, and Fatima Ashraf is registered as a dental therapist. A dental therapist's scope of practice with the General Dental Council includes all the hygiene treatment a dental hygienist provides, so whichever of them you see, your appointment is the same. Each has their GDC number on our team page, so you can check them on the General Dental Council register.
Two Options — Both Good
Standard hygiene appointment (£65):
A thorough scale and polish: plaque removed from every tooth with ultrasonic and hand instruments, then polished to remove surface stains, with advice on your home cleaning. Included in Practice Plans A and B.
GBT Guided Biofilm Therapy (£110):
EMS's GBT protocol: plaque made visible with a dye, removed with warm-water AIRFLOW first, and only the plaque the dye still shows scaled. Gentler, more effective on heavy staining, reaches between teeth and under the gumline, and designed to clean around implants and braces. Included in Practice Plans C and D.
Not sure which? Your dental therapist will say honestly which suits your mouth, and our guide explains the difference in a minute.
And a third, if your gums need it: the perio appointment (£95)
The two above are appointments you can choose between. This one is not - it is recommended after your gums are measured, and you are told why and what it costs before anything is booked.
Gingivitis is red, swollen, bleeding gums. NHS Lothian's patient guidance is clear that with good cleaning at home and help from a professional it is reversible. In people at risk it can go further and destroy the bone holding the teeth in place, and that is periodontitis - which is not reversible, though it can be stabilised. It can reach an advanced stage without any pain, which is why it is found by measuring your gums rather than by how your mouth feels.
Treating it means cleaning below the gumline, along the root surfaces, where a standard polish cannot reach. That takes longer, often needs local anaesthetic, and is usually carried out over more than one visit. Afterwards it does not simply stop: NHS Lothian puts it plainly — “to maintain healthy gums after treatment you will require regular support and maintenance for life with either your dentist or a hygienist/dental therapist”. In practice that commonly means four visits a year rather than two. Ask us how that works alongside a Practice Plan before you join, so the plan you pick matches the care you actually need.
More on gum disease from NHS Scotland: nhsinform.scot.
Why Have Your Hygiene Visits at City Dental Care?
Standard or GBT - your choice:
We run the EMS AIRFLOW system and are listed on the official GBT clinic finder; we also offer the traditional clean at £65.
Included in the Practice Plan:
Every plan builds hygiene visits into a monthly fee, alongside your examinations and a discount on treatment.
Evenings until 8pm:
Hygiene appointments after work until 8pm Monday to Thursday (Friday until 5pm), in the city centre a short walk from Haymarket Station.
Nervous patients welcome:
Tell us when you book and the appointment is paced around you.
