 Hello everybody, Andrea Trotsky here. I am a mobile dental hygienist. So I have my own practice Where I go mobile inside patients home So it's a lot more comfortable for them and it's kind of a newer thing Where patients can have their teeth cleaned in their own homes, of course depending on where you live It does vary by province country. You name it. It's a bit different But a question that I get asked often is Andrea, how often do I really need x-rays? So since I am a mobile dental hygienist I can't take x-rays because I don't bring the x-ray equipment with me and the patient's homes aren't going to be ledlined But they're asking me they say when I go to my dentist for a checkup. They always, you know, push the x-rays That's what they say. They say Andrea. They push the x-rays. Do I really need them? So let me share a couple things that we look for in a dental office because I used to work in dental offices for Oh my goodness, 14 years. So I definitely know the things we looked for So basically someone like me who brushes twice a day I probably use the water flosser three times a day. If not more, I you know, I'm careful with my teeth Like I know what to look for. I'm careful. I'm not eating candy 24-7. I drank a lot of water So somebody who's healthy who has good teeth and gums overall They will not need x-rays every six months. I get my x-rays done maybe every two or three years I say to patients at the very least I would like you to have x-rays once every three years because even if things look really good We don't suspect cavities. You're doing a great job. The gums everything is healthy But we could be missing something in three years, you know, it could be once every five years But that's a long time to wait. So once every three years, but if we have a patient coming in There is a little cavity every six months. There's always something new. They might brush every other day They admit to eating a lot of candy drinking a lot of soda There's a lot of you know sugars in there Then we might suggest having x-rays every six months or even once a year But once those x-rays start to look normal start to look good So when we're taking the x-rays and then we go, okay, there's been no change no cavities You're doing a great job Then you might be able to wait a year and a half But if the dentist notices things in your x-rays and they go hmm you have another cavity or The enamel is a little thing here. I want to keep an eye on it or this tooth might need a crown See how this cavity or this filling is very close to the nerve I want to keep an eye on it if the dentist ever says they're keeping an eye on something You will likely be getting x-rays every six nine months or every year because how can they keep an eye on it? If they're not having the x-rays done to check we can't see inside the tooth Unfortunately, and we can't see in between the teeth unless we take x-rays. So When people ask me how often do I need x-rays? It depends on that person Depends on their oral health. So I hope this helps you guys Please let me know though if any questions and I look forward to seeing you guys in the next one