from Hacker News

Routine scale and polish for periodontal health in adults

by samanb on 5/28/25, 3:04 PM with 1 comments

• by samanb on 5/28/25, 3:04 PM

  From the study: Two studies compared planned, regular interval (six‐ and 12‐monthly) scale and polish treatments versus no scheduled treatment. We found little or no difference between groups over a two‐ to three‐year period for gingivitis, probing depths, oral health‐related quality of life (all high‐certainty evidence) and plaque (low‐certainty evidence).

  This makes me think that regular dental cleanings are, at least over a 2-3 year period, mostly unnecessary unless have a severe gum disease already. I explored people's views on reddit on this topic and everyone seems to be repeating the conventional wisdom("You absolutely need bi-annual cleanings if you want to keep your teeth etc..") but without any evidence.

  I am curious to hear what others think, possibly with evidence.