Routine scale and polish for periodontal health in adults

2 samanb 1 5/28/2025, 3:04:18 PM pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗

Comments (1)

samanb · 1d ago
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.