Most of us have heard over and over again how biannual dental visits are important. Visiting your dentist every six months is essential for good health of your teeth and gums as well as your breath.
But if you have wondered exactly why these visits should be scheduled for every six months and why not a year or every two years, we have a good answer for you.
If it was a perfect world, then you would have everybody brushing and flossing their teeth at least twice a day. Even in that situation, plaque will build up over time. Plaque is a sticky bacterial film that will solidify and become tartar. No amount of brushing and flossing is going to remove plaque completely. Because it can’t remove plaque completely, that plaque will build into tartar.
Even if you brush with tartar control toothpaste, that isn’t going to do much to remove the actual hardened tartar on your teeth, especially that which is near or just below the gum line.
When you visit your dentist every six months, you will notice them using a tiny pick and scraping your teeth. What they are doing is removing that hardened tartar from your teeth. This is why it is so important to make sure that you visit your dentist twice a year.
In some cases though, even every six months is not enough. Your teeth or your oral health may require you to visit the dentist more frequently than that. The best way to assess whether you should be visiting the dentist every six months or even more frequently is to speak to your dentist at your next visit.
No matter what you do, plaque will build up on your teeth. Ignoring it will only make matters worse so make sure that you visit your dentist at least at the recommended six-month intervals.