Do I need a Dental Checkup and Cleaning Every Six Months?
Do I need a dental checkup and cleaning every six months?
It’s no surprise that your dentist and even your dental insurance recommend a preventative checkup and cleaning about twice a year. It’s the easiest way to keep your teeth in the best shape, in addition to daily hygiene habits. The checkup helps catch any dental issues before they become major. It's all about preserving your oral health.
Staying on a regular schedule with your dentist helps to keep your smile in the best shape. Although it doesn’t have to be exactly six months, waiting at least twice a year is highly recommended to avoid significant problems.
Benefits of Regular Dental Checkups
There are various reasons why it's worth scheduling a visit with your dentist every six months. Here, we have discussed some of the most significant benefits:
Your dentist wants to see you twice yearly to help you maintain good oral health between visits. While we don’t expect any significant changes in 6 months, they can happen, and we want to catch dental problems early on. At each visit, your dentist will perform a thorough exam for early signs of decay, gum disease, oral cancer, bite issues, and more.
In addition to checking for emerging dental concerns, your dentist can also take steps to prevent issues from appearing. For example, if they notice some buildup on your teeth, they may recommend you adjust your oral hygiene routine or have your teeth polished more thoroughly at your next cleaning. Steps like this prevent plaque from turning into a more significant issue like tooth decay or periodontal disease down the road.
Regular dental visits increase the likelihood of catching issues early, such as cavities and gum disease. These issues tend to worsen and become more difficult to treat over time. By identifying problems early, you and your dentist can address them before significant damage occurs.
The bottom line is that sticking to a 6-month routine allows your dentist to play offense and defense regarding your oral health. Regular appointments mean you'll spend less time in the dental chair for treatment, which is a win-win situation.
Importance of Dental Cleanings: Removal of Plaque and Tartar
Plaque is a sticky film of bacteria that constantly forms on your teeth. This bacteria can produce acids that attack tooth enamel, leading to cavities and gum disease. If plaque is not removed regularly through proper brushing and flossing, it can harden into tartar, a calcified substance that adheres to your teeth. Once tartar has formed, it unfortunately cannot be removed by brushing and flossing alone and requires professional intervention.
During a dental visit, the dentist or hygienist uses specialized tools to remove tartar from your teeth carefully. This process, known as scaling and polishing, involves scraping off the tartar from above and below the gum line and smoothing and polishing each tooth to remove any remaining plaque and surface stains. This prevents gum inflammation and potential periodontal disease and creates a clean and smooth tooth surface, making it easier for you to maintain your oral hygiene at home.
By removing tartar and plaque, the dentist helps ensure that your daily oral care routine—brushing, flossing, and mouthwash—is more effective. This thorough cleaning reduces the risk of cavities, gum disease, and other oral health issues, helping you maintain a healthier mouth and a brighter smile. Regular professional cleanings are a crucial part of comprehensive dental care, reinforcing the efforts you put into your oral hygiene every day.
What is a regular dental cleaning schedule?
As mentioned, most patients and dental insurance will recommend cleanings twice a year. When appropriately timed with a regular dental checkup and preventative X-rays, this should not be too inconvenient for the patient. Most patients schedule their cleanings six months apart, which usually means scheduling an appointment as they walk out of their cleaning.
For parents and families on a local school schedule, timing can be essential to keep appointments from interfering with busy academic and extracurricular activities. When possible, we recommend scheduling cleanings in the first month of summer break so that in six months or so, the schools will typically have winter holiday breaks. For example, if the dental cleaning is scheduled in mid-May or even June, a six-month dental cleaning could be scheduled near the Thanksgiving or Christmas break.
If you are using dental insurance, it may be essential to check your frequency limitations, typically listed as “Prophylaxis.” It can be a bit complicated, but the frequencies we see most often are:
Two cleanings in a Calendar Year (this typically gives the most flexibility as you can schedule anytime as long as you don’t exceed two cleanings between January and December)
One cleaning every six months (this should be watched closely as the insurance will be calculating the exact date to confirm it has been more than six months since your last cleaning)
Two cleanings in 12 months (this limitation can be pretty tricky as it considers the limits on a rolling basis, meaning you must account for your last two cleanings to evaluate when the next eligible cleaning is)
Takeaways
In conclusion, we recommend a cleaning twice a year for most patients. This usually means every six months; however, it’s not a strict recommendation that it must be at precisely six months. If you have dental insurance, most policies cover this frequency, typically at no cost. Routine cleanings and checkups are the best way for you (and your insurance company) to keep costs down by avoiding major dental procedures!
For some patients with prior or active periodontal disease, the general recommendation is to have dental cleanings more frequently (about every 3 to 4 months) so that buildup can be removed before it gets too complicated or invasive.