Choosing a Dentist
What can a dental hygienist or therapist do?
By The Local Dentist Editorial · Updated 15 July 2026
What a dental hygienist can do
Dental hygienists are GDC-registered professionals focused on prevention and gum health. Their scope covers scaling and polishing to remove plaque and tartar, treating gum (periodontal) disease, applying fluoride varnish and fissure sealants, taking impressions, and giving tailored oral-health and diet advice. They can also carry out tooth whitening — but only on a dentist's prescription, never on their own initiative, because whitening is legally classed as dentistry regardless of who performs it. Hygienists cannot place fillings or carry out extractions; that distinction is what separates a hygienist from a dental therapist, covered next. Many practices employ hygienists specifically for routine 'scale and polish' appointments and ongoing gum disease management, working alongside dentists who handle diagnosis and more complex treatment.
What a dental therapist can do
Dental therapists have a wider scope than hygienists. They can do everything listed above — scaling, gum treatment, sealants, whitening on prescription — plus direct restorations (fillings) for adults and children, pulp treatment, and extraction of primary (baby) teeth. In short: a therapist can legally carry out a filling; a hygienist cannot. Many dental professionals are dual-qualified as both a hygienist and a therapist, so their job title on a practice website doesn't always reveal the full scope of what they're allowed to do — the GDC register will confirm their actual registration category. Therapists are increasingly used to expand NHS and private practice capacity for routine restorative work, freeing dentists for diagnosis, treatment planning, and more complex procedures such as crowns, root canal, or extractions of adult teeth.
Direct access: do you need to see a dentist first?
Since 2013, patients have had 'direct access' to dental hygienists and therapists, meaning you can usually book an appointment with one directly, without seeing a dentist first, for most of their scope of practice — a scale and polish or gum treatment, for example. There are limits: tooth whitening always requires a dentist's prescription, whoever ultimately carries it out, and a dentist is still needed to diagnose problems and plan complex treatment, such as working out why a tooth is painful or what a course of restorative work should involve. In practice, many patients see a hygienist or therapist as part of a mixed care team alongside a dentist, rather than choosing one or the other — ask your practice how appointments are split.
Other members of the dental team
The wider dental team is also entirely GDC-registered. Dental nurses support clinical care chairside and with infection control, and increasingly hold extended duties. Orthodontic therapists adjust and monitor braces under a dentist's prescription once treatment is planned. Clinical dental technicians can provide complete dentures directly to patients without a dentist referral, though partial dentures still require a dentist's prescription. Whatever the title, everyone treating you in a UK dental practice must be on the GDC register — you can check any individual for free at gdc-uk.org. If a practice can't or won't confirm who is doing what and their registration status, that's worth asking about before treatment starts.
People Also Ask
Can a hygienist do fillings?
No. Fillings are within a dental therapist's scope of practice, not a hygienist's. Many professionals are dual-qualified as both, so ask which registration category applies if you need restorative work.
Do I need to see a dentist before booking a hygienist or therapist?
Usually not — direct access since 2013 lets you book most of their scope without a dentist referral. The exception is tooth whitening, which always needs a dentist's prescription.
Is a dental therapist a fully qualified dentist?
No. Therapists are a separate GDC-registered title with a defined scope that includes fillings and extracting baby teeth, but not the full scope of a dentist, such as complex diagnosis or treatment planning.
How do I check someone's actual registration?
Search the free GDC register at gdc-uk.org by name — it shows their registered title, whether that's dentist, therapist, hygienist, nurse, or technician.
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This article is general information for UK patients, not clinical advice, and NHS rules and charges change — confirm current rules on nhs.uk or speak to a dentist before acting. For severe facial swelling affecting breathing/swallowing, uncontrolled bleeding, or trauma call 999 / go to A&E; otherwise NHS 111 for urgent dental access. Price figures are indicative benchmarks from our methodology.