Are you one of those people who diligently make your teeth cleaning appointments every six months?

Well, a new study in the Journal of Dental Research suggests you may be able to go a full year!

Using dental claim data from more than 5-thousand adult patients who regularly visited the dentist, researchers looked at the link between long-term tooth loss and frequency of those preventative cleanings.

Periodontal disease risk factors, like smoking, diabetes and genetics, were also considered.

The data showed that high-risk patients having at least one of the three risk factors benefit from two dental cleanings per year.

People with two or three of the risk factors may need more than two cleanings each year to prevent tooth loss.

But for those who don’t smoke and have no family history of dental disease, or diabetes…the researchers say one cleaning a year may be just what the dentist ordered for your oral health.

I’m Dr. Cindy Haines of HealthDay TV…with health information for healthier living.

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