Frequency of teeth cleanings at the dentist

Hello everyone, my dentist is pushing for teeth cleanings every 3 months, as opposed the current frequency of every 6 months, probably as a general push among all its patients to bring in more insurance money. I had a bicuspid valve repair 3 years ago and have been pretty diligent about flossing and brushing, to the point that my recent teeth cleanings have been quick and easy to the dental hygienist. Even though I take premeds before each cleaning, I'm wondering if having 4x/year cleanings is excessive and bringing unnecessary risk of infection and endocarditis? Thank you all.

I think this is a recent change to the dental cleaning protocol. My dentist has suggested that I have my cleaning every three months. When I pushed back a little, he no longer mentioned it.......and I continue to get my cleanings 2X per year.

I'm not sure if his push for you to come in every three months is something he is recommending for all his patients or just for you. This may sound counterintuitive, but I think that more frequent cleanings might actually decrease your risk of endocarditis, not increase it. At least to a point.

Look at it is way- if taken to the extreme: A valve patient, fearing endocarditis, only goes to the dentist once every 5 years. The patient might think that they are lowering their chances of endocarditis, but I would argue that they are increasing their risk. Those 5 year visits are going to be high risk visits, because without the deep cleanings from regular visits, they will likely have unchecked gum disease. They would also have a higher infection risk between visits, due to gum disease. Visiting more frequently would decrease the level of gum disease and reduce the risk of infection due to a bleed that occures during a visit.

I expect that there is a point of diminishing returns. Going every 4 weeks would likely be excessive. Is there a lower risk of gum disease if a patient comes in every 3 months vs 6 months? I really can't say. I guess I would suggest asking some follow up questions to determine why they want you to come in more often.

I was diagnosed with gum disease in 2007 (despite having brushed and flossed faithfully for my entire adult life to that point). The periodontist recommended that I change from 6-monthly cleanings to 3-monthly cleanings. I alternate between my regular dentist's office and my periodontist's office.

dchrisc said:

my dentist is pushing for teeth cleanings every 3 months, as opposed the current frequency of every 6 months

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myself I go see mine per 6 months ... has there been "feedback" that they feel you need to be seen every 3 because "its a big job" ... suggesting that (say) for whatever reason you have a lot of calculus build-up?

Zoltania said:

I was diagnosed with gum disease in 2007 (despite having brushed and flossed faithfully for my entire adult life to that point).

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stuff like this makes me wonder if there is some other underlying issue, perhaps say something to do with "oral flora" ... I suspect that this is an under researched area.

For instance some 2 years back I started getting some post-nasal drip. I tried a variety of things (sailine irrigation as well as more regular flossing and mouth washing. However I've hit on something which cleared it up by accident: sugar free chewing gum. Mine contains the following



I found this interesting:


https://www.roquette.com/innovation...ations suggested that,gum and gum-base groups.

I'll be interested to hear if my dentist has anything to say when I seem them next month.

Best Wishes

pellicle said:

Dental plaque evaluations suggested that the maltitol and xylitol groups displayed significant benefits in terms of plaque accumulation, plaque pH, insoluble glucans concentrations and cariogenic bacteria levels relative to both no-gum and gum-base groups.

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Aboiut 25 years ago my dentist suggested, among other things, that I start chewing sugar free gum with xylitol to reduce the risk of future cavities.
I followed all of his recommendations since then, including the gum chewing. Prior to that, I would average about one cavity per dental visit, or 2 per year. Since then it has been more like one cavity every 10 years. I started doing more than just the gum, daily flossing for example, which I believe is probably the biggest factor. Not sure how much the gum has helped, but I suspect it has.

dchrisc said:

Hello everyone, my dentist is pushing for teeth cleanings every 3 months, as opposed the current frequency of every 6 months, probably as a general push among all its patients to bring in more insurance money. I had a bicuspid valve repair 3 years ago and have been pretty diligent about flossing and brushing, to the point that my recent teeth cleanings have been quick and easy to the dental hygienist. Even though I take premeds before each cleaning, I'm wondering if having 4x/year cleanings is excessive and bringing unnecessary risk of infection and endocarditis? Thank you all.

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I had my dentist REFUSE to do a normal cleaning, on both myself and my wife. The normal cleaning is free with insurance. The deep clean "may be" covered, or may not. Then they add i the use of laser which is NOT covered and costs hundreds of dollars. It is a scam. I will never go to that dentist again. There is a whole story behind it, but my wife was so traumatized by them it took a year of counseling and swallowing one temporary crown and breaking the other two for her to go back and get it finished. Not a good situation.

In most cases, it wouldn't be insurance money because insurance companies typically pay for two cleanings a year. Extra would be money out of your pocket. I go twice a year. My dentist has never suggested otherwise.

I go three times a year. As Lisa said, insurance pays for two cleanings. I pay out of pocket for the third visit.

I go four times a year for cleaning to keep periodontal disease in better control. Dentist had recommended three times a year and I did that for awhile and then volunteered for four. Insurance pays for small part of it and not as free cleaning but rather at 50 after annual deductible as perio treatment but at max of three times a year. Because of bidirectional relationship between periodontal disease and type two diabetes, it is worth it to me to pay out of pocket extra.

Usually, if something concerns the dentist, he will ask for a panoramic x-ray, also many dentists ask for it at the first appointment in order to have the progress of the treatment in their patient file and for the reason that they can see many diseases with a single x-ray.
This x-ray shows us a lot of useful information about the condition of the mouth.
I am not a dentist but I have been working with dentists for many years because of my profession and I think that 1-2 times a year is enough for a dental checkup. If of course there is a problem then treatment should be done and the patient should be informed exactly what he has and what the treatment plan is.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panoramic_radiograph

I always think you should get 2 or 3 opinions if someone tells you to go more than twice a year.

I moved to another state for school a few years ago, the new dentist said I have periodontitis and I needed to come 3-4x a year to get routine cleanings and 1 deep cleaning. I always had some form of gingivitis so I bought into this and they even did the x-rays to "show" me the necessity.

I moved back to my home state and visited my old dentist. He said there was absolutely no need to come 3-4x a year and I did not have the same disease progression the other clinic said. 2x a year was fine and would prevent any buildup from forming on my teeth/gum disease if I visited routinely every 6mo.

Got a 3rd opinion (just for science sake) and was told the same as dentist 2. Point being, get a few opinions and be wary of dentists saying to come 3-4x a year if you don't need it just to uncharge you (because yes- insurance would cover 2, but the other 2 would be ~150 out of pocket each for me a year).

ncw3642 said:

I always think you should get 2 or 3 opinions if someone tells you to go more than twice a year.

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I agree. When I was about 30, I signed up for a dental HMO through my job. I'd never had any issues so figured "free" dental care would be fine. I went to the dentist for a routine cleaning and he said I had significant periodontal disease and needed extra cleaning, periodontal scaling, and root planing. I called the dentist I'd seen about 6 months earlier and he said that it was a scam. The dentist was the only one in my area on the HMO so I called HR, told them what was going on, and they allowed me to switch to the PPO plan. I also called the plan, as did the HR, to make a report. Within 6 months, the dentist was no longer on the plan, but I'm not sure if it was voluntary or not. I'm now 62, have seen 2 different dentists, an endodontist, and an oral surgeon, and still don't have periodontal disease.

The chewing gum info is very interesting.
My daughter has many health issues due to autoimmune disease. Often she’s too tired to brush, but she’ll grab a piece of trident almost daily. Her dental checks are always good. She’s only ever had 1 cavity. No gum issues and she’s got 2 implants because she wasn’t born with 2 important teeth. We both only need cleaning/checkup q 6 mos.

I had a mechanical aortic valve put in in 2011. Since then I have been getting a cleaning every 3 or 4 months each year. I have the dentist do his check every other time. My work dental insurance is with Delta Dental. If you have dental insurance check as mine pays for up to 4 cleanings a year due to heart issue. Just had to go on line to Delta and mark the issue and they cover it. I enjoy the 20 to 30 minute cleanings as compared to when I did visits every 6 months and cleanings would take longer.

I do chew sugar free gum alot and cannot remember having a cavity in last 20 years.

Gail in Ca said:

she’ll grab a piece of trident almost daily

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Trident with xylitol is my gum of choice also. I order in bulk on Amazon and usually have a piece after each meal.

I moved to this town 20 years ago. When I was looking for a dentist I met a couple of doozies. Most of the dentists here are funding their home/vacation residence. It is increasingly expensive living here but they want more free time to surf, golf, fish and travel. I have been encouraged to do things just so they increase their income. My last dentist has been relatively straight up about everything but I think he takes his yacht up and down the coast so he has something else to talk about while working on his patient's teeth. It is OK that my mouth being worked on keeps me from talking once we have chatted in the waiting room because he talks and has done everything and more. But it is a really great trait to have when the expert you hire narrates and educates as they work on you or your things if you are present and/or conscious.

My insurance included three cleanings per year instead of the typical two but they do not pay enough for what they cover and this dentist announced he was no longer taking my insurance. Of course I was welcome to stay and pay all of it but he was done processing the claims for a meager return. I shopped for a new dentist and could not find any who both took my insurance and had a decent office. The office and staff matter. I don't mind funding their BMW or Mercedes. I would avoid a frumpy slob driving a dented up old car working in a shabby office. I have a new one lined up but he was booked well in advance so I have not seen him yet. Perhaps the worst thing I know about him is that he takes my insurance. ;-)

I don't recall having a cavity for at least 25 years, maybe as long as 35 years. I may have forgotten but the one I recall was in the early 80's. I am dliigent about flossing, brushing and using ACT. I was skeptical of those products but I accepted my dentist's recommendation. He was one of the best I ever met. I don't know whether it is related but I chew sugarless gum off and on throughout the day. However, I don't keep it in my mouth that long. My jaw gets sore and gum chewing is not good for fillings and crowns. So I frequently chew new pieces and spit them out. It keeps me from that unconscious chomping.

EDIT: I made that new appointment months ago and I just posted this comment and received a text reminder of the appointment coming in September within a couple of minutes.

When my daughter and I first moved to SoCal, we didn’t know of a dentist or GP.
She went to a dentist in Calabasas that tried to get her to do a deep clean that would take 2 appointments! Also wanted a sleep study. She left there having only X-rays from a tech who had dirty fake fingernails. It cost over $300. I called and spoke to the dentist when she told me what happened. I ended up getting a total refund. He didn’t want us leaving a bad review!!
We now have a great dentist after I asked my eye surgeon who his dentist was! (He shopped at the same Costco so I knew he lived somewhere close to me, more upscale of course)!
This dentist doesn’t push any unneeded procedures and he’s very reasonable.
I get gum at Costco since my daughter goes thru a lot.