Many people wonder how often they should get their teeth cleaned. The answer to that is not a simple answer. A lot of factors go into deciding how often you should get your teeth cleaned. When you go into the dentist's office for a check up your dentist will discuss a plan with you, depending on what they find. They could recommend you come in once a month, twice a year, or once a year.

When deciding how often to clean your teeth dentists will look at the health of your teeth and gums, if they are healthy and you are a healthy person they might recommend coming in once every twelve to twenty-four months to have them professionally cleaned. Some other factors they take into consideration are: medical conditions, such as diabetes and HIV infection, your oral hygiene habits, how fast you accumulate deposits on your teeth, your age, and whether or not you smoke. Depending on what they find your dentist may recommend you come in more often for professional teeth cleaning.

Most dental insurance plans provide you with two dentist visits a year, sometimes fully paid for, sometimes at a discount. At these visits dentists will give you a complete check up and professional cleaning. The professional cleaning it will remove plaque, which is the soft build up on your teeth, and tartar, calculus, or stains, which are the hard deposits that build on your teeth that regular oral hygiene, will not remove.

While getting your teeth professional cleaned at least twice a year is good hygiene practice it does not guarantee the health of your teeth. Dentists or a dental hygienist will clean your teeth, but depending on some of your habits. For example if you smoke or drink a high amount of caffeinated drinks, including coffee and soda, your teeth will become stained. Depending on the amount of use your dentist or hygienist might not be able to remove all of the stains just by cleaning your teeth. They might recommend that you use a teeth whitening procedure, as well as getting cleanings twice a year.

Teeth cleaning is used to prevent or slow the progression of periodontal diseases. Periodontal diseases are any diseases that affect the tissues (gums) or structures (jaw bone) surrounding and supporting the teeth. Nothing is guaranteed to prevent periodontal diseases but having your teeth cleaned, not smoking, and practicing good oral hygiene are the most effective ways to prevent them.

Getting your teeth cleaned twice a year or more also has other advantages. When your dentist is cleaning your teeth they are also checking for oral cancer. Like some other cancers the sooner you detect oral cancer the better your chances of having it cured. Another advantage of getting your teeth cleaned twice a year is the detection of early dental problems, the sooner the dentist spots the problem, the better your chances of getting them fixed before you lose your adult teeth.

Although you might only go to the dentist twice a year to get the plaque and tartar build up removed by brushing properly at home you can remove a lot of the plaque yourself. Practicing good oral hygiene between visits might be the main difference between keeping your teeth and losing them.

The best idea is to start going to the dentist at an early age. By taking your kids in regularly for teeth cleaning you are teaching them that taking care of their teeth is important and they will be more likely to continue those visits when they become adults.