The short answer to the question “How often should you go to the dentist? is, for most people, at least once a year, as recommended by the CDC. The recommendation for most people is to visit the dentist for an exam and cleaning twice a year. However, most people with a low risk of oral diseases may visit the dentist less often, while others may need to go more often. It's often said that you should go to the dentist twice a year. When in doubt, this is a good rule of thumb to follow.
But if you want to be sure how often you need a dental checkup, you need to consider your mouth, hygiene, habits and general well-being. Based on these and other data, in 1999, Moles and others performed a computer simulation to identify optimal recovery intervals. 8 They concluded that patients would benefit most if they went to the dentist at intervals of between 13 and 120 months. A more definitive answer could not be obtained due to two factors: some dentists are better than others at recognizing the presence of early disease and, more importantly, rates of disease progression vary greatly from one person to another.
You may assume that you should have a dental checkup every 6 months, but some people may not need to go as often and others may need more frequent checks. Your dentist should suggest when you should have your next checkup based on how good your oral health is. The time between checkups can range from 3 months to 2 years, depending on the health of your teeth and gums and your risk of future problems. A checkup allows the dentist to see if you have any dental problems and helps you keep your mouth healthy.
After the review, your dentist will recommend a date for your next visit. The next review may take as little as 3 months or as long as 2 years (or up to 1 year if you are younger than 1 year). In general, the lower your risk of dental problems, the longer you have to wait until your next exam. Therefore, people with good oral health may only need to visit once every 12 to 24 months, but those with more problems will need to be checked more often.
If you have problems with your teeth between checkups, contact the dental office to schedule a consultation. In the event of an emergency outside normal business hours, call your office at the regular number and they will tell you how to access emergency dental care. While it's true that visiting the dentist twice a year is a good rule of thumb for many people, the truth is that everyone has their own smile needs. So it depends on your oral hygiene, habits, and individual medical conditions.
However, the strongest evidence suggests that, since the risk of illness varies so much between people, only the dentist can adequately assess the most appropriate interval between dental exams. When it comes to oral cancer, dentists and hygienists are often the first to detect it in many patients. In addition, people who have dental insurance tend to visit the dentist more often than those without it. For more detailed information about the actual costs of your dental care, consult your dentist or Delta Dental. The recommendation to visit the dentist twice a year is a good general rule, but individual health situations determine how often a person needs to visit the dentist.
Keep reading to learn more about how often you should have dental checkups, why you may need to visit the dentist more often, why going to the dentist is essential, and what you can do to stay healthy and minimize your visits. However, going to the dentist regularly, with pain or without pain, with problems or without problems, is critical to your oral health and to your overall health. A reasonable goal is to visit the dentist at least once a year for an oral health check, although some data indicate that people with a low risk of contracting the disease may last up to 18 to 24 months. That said, it's likely that you've received a text message, email, or phone call at some point in your life reminding you to visit the dentist for six months.
If you have a chipped, broken, cracked, damaged or knocked out tooth, or any dental discomfort, you should call your dentist right away and let them know what's going on.
