6 Month Dental Check UP?

I read the article on the necessity of twice annual dental checkups with great interest. What was more interesting to me was the bloggers who posted comments ABOUT the article.

What did most   of the people who commented on the article think about dentists and dentistry?

The overwhelming majority of the bloggers think that dentists are crooks only out to take your money and provide either unnecessary or excessively profitable treatment. Another frequent comment was that if you brush and floss regularly, you probably don't need to visit a dentist except infrequently.

Anyone who reads my blogs on a regular basis knows that I believe that the majority of crowns placed do not strengthen teeth and a well done direct bonded resin using a rubber dam is probably a better restoration than a crown EXCEPT WHEN A POSTERIOR TOOTH HAS A ROOT CANAL AND THEN A CROWN IS MANDATORY.

I did a Google search to find out what percent of the population flosses daily. The number of daily flossers is somewhere between 17-30% which means that about 80% of the population needs more than one cleaning a year.

Why do I truly believe that 6 months checkups are a good thing?

1. The average dental patient DOES accumulate plaque and tarter and it is wise to remove it.
2. If you have any chance of surviving oral cancer, it MUST be caught and treated early.
3. Dentists are usually the first doctors to recognize that a patient has gastric reflux (heart burn) because of the significant destruction of our natural teeth. Dentists can then refer the patient to their family doctor for life saving treatment.
4. The most commonly prescribed medicine in America are anti-depressants and one of the most common side effects is dry mouth. Dry mouth is the number one cause of rampant tooth decay (caries) among adults.
5. Children no longer eat three healthy meals a day with one snack. The graze on food all day long which results in significant amounts of cavities.

Is there scientific evidence that 6 month check ups are needed? Probably not but it is still a damn good idea to do it anyway.

If any of my patients think that money is the motivating factor in how I treat you, you would be completely mistaken. I would never hurt anyone to increase my income nor would I recommend treatment that is not in YOUR best interest.

After reading the majority of comments  by bloggers on the New York Times website who responded to the article on 6 month dental visits, I came away thinking that the Times readership is not very bright.
Sad!!!!