Dental Exams and Cleanings
What the visit really covers.
Book a checkupResources
How often is enough?
Every six months is the standard answer, and for most healthy adults it's the right one. The honest answer is more personal: your gum health, cavity history, and risk factors set your interval, and it can change over time.
So why six months?
Plaque hardens into tartar within weeks, and tartar can only come off professionally. Six months keeps buildup from doing quiet damage between visits, and it gives small problems two chances a year to get caught while they're still small and inexpensive.
Some situations call for more. Active gum disease usually means cleanings every three to four months for a while, and heavy tartar formers, smokers, diabetics, and dry-mouth patients often benefit from shorter intervals. Some people with excellent home care and stable checkups earn longer ones. Dr. Little will tell you which camp you're in, and why.
What skipping really costs.
One missed cleaning is rarely a disaster. A missed few years lets a fifty-dollar problem grow into a fifteen-hundred-dollar one; decay and gum disease progress quietly, without pain, until they don't. Been a while? Skip the guilt and just book the reset visit. The rhythm restarts from wherever you are.
You asked, we answered.
Do I really need X-rays every year?
Not necessarily. Imaging follows your risk and history, not a fixed calendar. We take X-rays when they're likely to change what we know.
Is twice a year enough if my gums bleed?
Probably not while they're bleeding. Active gum inflammation usually calls for a shorter cleaning interval until things settle down, and then you can often go back to six months.
My teeth feel fine. Why go at all?
Because the expensive problems stay quiet (no pain) for years. Exams exist to catch what you can't feel: early decay, gum pockets, cracked fillings, and screening for oral cancer.
How often should kids go?
Every six months, same as the grown-ups, starting around the first birthday. Young enamel decays faster, so the interval matters more, not less.
Get back in the rhythm.
Request a cleaning online or call the office. Zero lectures, ever.