You know that dental professionals recommend scheduling teeth cleanings every six months. But if you're consistent and proactive with your oral hygiene routine, you may wonder if these regular routine teeth cleanings are truly necessary.

In this blog, we discuss five reasons why you should prioritize your standard teeth cleaning appointments, regardless of the oral care steps you take at home.

1. Bolstered Oral Hygiene

You brush and floss daily as recommended, so why take the extra step of having your teeth cleaned by a hygienist? No matter how efficient you are with your at-home oral hygiene routine, some steps will always be missing.

For example, many patients have spots where plaque and tartar build up because their toothbrush doesn't effectively reach that area. Your dentist's staff has the tools and expertise necessary to clean your teeth completely.

This boost in your oral hygiene every six months can further improve the steps you take on a daily basis. Additionally, these cleanings take care of persistent issues that can't be addressed at home, like foodrelated discoloration.

2. Early Disease Detection

Many serious diseases first appear in the mouth. When you come in for a dental cleaning, you're also submitting to routine screenings for several diseases, including oral cancer.

Your dentist may also discuss your symptoms to determine whether or not you're experiencing periodontitis, sleep apnea, bone loss, and other conditions. These regular trips to the dentist ensure that potentially serious diseases are detected and treated as early as possible to minimize their effects.

Even if you don't yet have an oral health condition, cleanings are an opportunity for your dentist to evaluate your risk factors and provide up-to-date patient education materials for your use. To maximize this benefit, always update your medical history and medication list when something changes.

3. Lower Long-Term Dental Costs

You know after you've missed several cleanings that you can expect to schedule one or two fillings and other secondary procedures afterward. But what if you didn't end up needing those secondary procedures?

When you prioritize regular cleanings, you reduce the effects of tooth decay and give yourself the opportunity to optimize the oral hygiene methods you already use, as we'll discuss in the next section. When you go in for cleanings as recommended, you decrease your overall dental costs in the long run.

4. Optimized Oral Care

As mentioned in section one, many patients have problem areas in their mouths. Your problem area could be a physical portion of your teeth that need better or different care, or even a product you use that does more harm than good.

When you come in for a cleaning, you have the opportunity to discuss your current oral hygiene routine and its effects with an experienced dental professional. Your dentist may recommend different products, tools, or techniques to make your oral hygiene even more effective.

5. Reduced Oral Health Risks

All of the other reasons to prioritize teeth cleanings listed here contribute to one persuasive fact: people who have more regular cleanings are less likely to experience serious oral health problems over the course of their lives.

Specifically, studies used by the American Dental Association (ADA) show a correlation between tooth retention and teeth cleanings. You are less likely to deal with tooth loss in the future if you have regular cleanings now.

Make regular professional teeth cleanings part of the oral health care routine for every member of your family to ensure that you all have your brightest, healthiest possible smiles.



For expert routine and specialized dental care for patients of all ages, trust the experienced team at New England Dental Health Services PC.