Direct-access dental therapist · Hoylake, Wirral

Do you have gum disease?
We can help.

Gum disease has no early pain, no warning ache — just bleeding you learn to ignore, until the damage is no longer reversible. Government data shows nearly 1 in 5 UK adults with natural teeth have already been told they have it. Most don't act until it's advanced.

Book an appointment Check your symptoms
The gum health spectrum

Colour is the first warning sign

Healthy pinkInflamedBleedingReceding
HealthyFirm, pale pink, no bleeding on brushing.
GingivitisRed, puffy, bleeds when you brush — fully reversible.
Early periodontitisBone loss begins, gums start to pull back.
Advanced periodontitisLoosening teeth, visible recession, risk of loss.
10 years at McGrath Dental & Implant Clinic GDC-registered dental therapist See her directly — no dentist referral needed
The problem

It's the most common dental disease no one talks about.

Cavities get the awareness campaigns. Gum disease — far more common, and the leading cause of adult tooth loss — barely gets mentioned, largely because it doesn't announce itself until it's already done damage.

Official data

Nearly 1 in 5 adults, already told

Government survey data shows 19% of UK adults with natural teeth have been told by a dental professional they have gum disease — rising to 28% by age 55–64.

Industry data

Far more living with it undiagnosed

Wider estimates put the true proportion of UK adults affected by some degree of gum disease close to half — most without a formal diagnosis yet.

The consequence

Bone loss doesn't reverse

Left untreated, gingivitis progresses to periodontitis — permanent loss of the bone that holds your teeth in place, and the leading cause of tooth loss in adults.

In plain terms

What's actually happening under the gumline

Gum disease is bacteria and plaque building up where you can't see or reach it, causing inflammation that slowly eats away at the bone anchoring your teeth.

Healthy

Gum sits tight and high against the tooth, fully covering and protecting the root and bone beneath.

Gingivitis

Bacteria irritate the gum edge — it swells, reddens and bleeds easily. No bone loss yet, and fully reversible.

Periodontitis

The gum and bone pull back, opening deep pockets around the tooth root — the point damage stops reversing.

Simplified for clarity — Danielle's periodontal chart shows your actual gum and bone levels tooth by tooth.

Consultation room photo
Danielle at work
Practice / patient photo
Self-check

Any of this sound familiar?

Gum disease rarely hurts in its early stages, which is exactly why it goes unnoticed. These are the signs worth acting on.

01

Bleeding when you brush

Even occasional blood in the sink is your gums telling you they're inflamed.

02

Persistent bad breath

Often bacterial, sitting below the gumline where brushing can't reach.

03

Gums that look longer

Recession exposes the tooth root and is one of the first visible signs.

04

Teeth feeling loose

A sign that bone supporting the tooth has already been affected.

05

Gaps that weren't there

Teeth drifting or new spaces opening between them.

06

Sensitivity to hot or cold

Often linked to root exposure from gum recession.

Recognise two or more of these? The earlier it's caught, the more of it is fully reversible.

Book a gum health assessment
How treatment works

A clear path back to healthy gums

No guesswork, no scare tactics — just a defined process from first assessment through to long-term maintenance.

01

Assessment & gum mapping

A full periodontal chart measuring gum pocket depth around every tooth, so you can see exactly where — and how severe — the problem is, not just take my word for it.

02

Periodontal therapy

Deep cleaning below the gumline to remove the bacteria driving inflammation. Most patients are surprised how manageable this is — it's rarely as uncomfortable as they expect.

03

Home routine, rebuilt

Specific technique and tools for your mouth, not generic advice — the difference between gums that stay healthy and ones that relapse in six months.

04

Maintenance plan

Ongoing review visits timed to your risk level, catching any regression early rather than waiting for the next problem to appear.

The equipment behind it

Technology built for the pockets brushing can't reach

For deeper pockets — around natural teeth or implants — Danielle uses two technologies that go beyond a standard scale and polish.

Airflow treatment photo
Airflow / guided biofilm therapy

A gentler way to clear deep pockets

A fine, warm jet of air, water and low-abrasion powder clears bacterial biofilm from inside gum pockets and around implant surfaces — areas traditional scaling can struggle to reach without discomfort.

It's gentle enough for sensitive teeth and safe to use directly around implants, making it one of the few effective options for treating peri-implantitis (gum inflammation around implants) without damaging the implant surface.

Deep pocket therapy photo
Targeted pocket therapy

Treating the pocket, not just the surface

For pockets that don't respond to cleaning alone, Danielle places targeted treatments directly into the pocket to reduce the bacteria driving inflammation at the source — alongside deep cleaning, not instead of it.

Reviewed and adjusted at your maintenance visits, so treatment tracks how your gums actually respond over time.

Something most patients don't know

You can book with Danielle directly.

UK dental therapists can treat patients under "direct access" rules — no dentist appointment needed first, for a wide range of everyday care.

Direct access means exactly what it sounds like: you call, you book, you're seen — by Danielle, not by a dentist first. No referral loop, no extra appointment.

If Danielle ever spots something outside her scope, she brings in one of the dentists at McGrath Dental & Implant Clinic in the same visit or a prompt follow-up, so nothing falls through a gap.

Book Danielle directly for:

  • Routine and new patient checkups
  • Gum disease assessment & periodontal therapy
  • Hygiene appointments & scale and polish
  • Fillings
  • Composite bonding & edge bonding
  • Teeth whitening
Why it matters

One fewer appointment

No referral loop. You raise a concern, Danielle assesses it and gets started, often in the same visit.

Why it matters

The right specialist, first time

Gum health and everyday restorative work is exactly what Danielle's training and daily practice focus on.

Why it matters

Still backed by the full practice

Every dentist at McGrath Dental & Implant Clinic is one door away if a case ever needs it.

Composite bonding

Reshape, don't replace.

Chipped edges, small gaps, uneven or worn teeth — composite bonding fixes all of it in a single appointment, without cutting into healthy tooth structure. It's the most conservative cosmetic treatment available, and often the one that makes the biggest visible difference for the least intervention.

Danielle builds up tooth-coloured composite resin freehand, shade-matched and polished to sit invisibly alongside your natural teeth. No lab work, no temporaries, no waiting — you see the result the same day.

1 visitMost bonding is completed in a single appointment
0 drillingReversible — your natural tooth is left untouched
Same-dayYou leave with the finished result, not a temporary
BlendedShade-matched by eye to your surrounding teeth
Before / after photography to be added here
Everyday dentistry

The full picture, not just gums

Gum health is where Danielle focuses, but this is the everyday care most patients come in for.

Checkups

Thorough, unhurried examinations with a clear plan, not just a scale and polish.

Hygiene & gum therapy

From routine cleans to full periodontal treatment for established gum disease.

Fillings

Tooth-coloured, precisely shaped restorations that blend in rather than stand out.

Composite bonding

Reshaping chips, gaps and worn edges in a single visit — see the bonding section above.

Teeth whitening

Custom take-home whitening, fitted and monitored properly rather than sold off a shelf.

Preventive planning

A personal risk assessment and recall schedule built around your mouth, not a generic 6-month default.

Danielle Davis, Dental Therapist
About Danielle

Over 20 years' experience, the last decade with one community.

Danielle has worked as a dental therapist at McGrath Dental & Implant Clinic in Hoylake for a decade, and is one of the practice's most requested clinicians — patients come back to her specifically, not just for their recall appointment.

She qualified with a BSc in Oral Health Science from Manchester, and brings over 20 years of clinical experience overall, with further training since in periodontal therapy, tooth whitening and composite edge bonding. As a GDC-registered dental therapist, she can see and treat you directly — no dentist referral needed — and works alongside the practice's dentists whenever a case calls for it.

20+ yrsClinical experience
10 yrsAt McGrath Dental & Implant Clinic
GDC 6312Registered dental therapist
Patient feedback

What patients say

"Had my composite bonding completed today at McGrath Dental by the lovely Danielle, and I couldn't be happier with my new smile! The practice is a ten out of ten — everything is so modern, clean, and welcoming."

— Lee Davis, Composite bonding

"To complete my smile, I saw Danielle for composite bonding on my lower teeth, and she did an incredible job. Her attention to detail and artistic touch brought everything together perfectly."

— Peter Keen, Composite bonding

"Dr. Gareth Hargreaves completed the Invisalign and whitening processes, and Danielle Davis did composite edge bonding at the very end of my treatment…"

— Robert Hilton, Invisalign & composite edge bonding

Sourced from Google reviews. Robert Hilton's review is shown as excerpted (Google truncated it with "…More") — send the full text if you'd like the complete quote in here.

Let's get your gums back on track.

Book a gum health assessment with Danielle — no referral required.

Book online