 Hello everybody, Andrea Mayesky here with Dental L. So a lot of patients ask me, so how often should I see a dental hygienist? And I'm sorry and I hate to say it, but every patient is different. I know that's not something you wanna hear. You probably just want a straight answer, right? How often should I see the dental hygienist? But I'm going to give you guys kind of a blueprint and this might help to kind of guide you, okay? So first of all, if you haven't seen a dentist in say 10 years, we would need to clean your teeth first, you know, to see how much plaque and tartar you do have. There's probably a lot there. It might even take multiple appointments, but then after that, we will have a pretty good idea of how much your plaque and tartar pretty much builds up because every patient is different. Even if you brush every morning, every night, which is perfect for two minutes and make sure to floss every single day. Even if you do that, just some patients seem to build up plaque and tartar quickly. So I might be seeing them still every six months, but if you're that type of person who says to me, I'm, you know, I'm 54, I don't floss, I don't want to. I brush once a day, that's it, sorry, but that's me. If you're that type of person, then we will probably have to see you more often because you will have more plaque and tartar and that just simply takes longer for me to clean. And we want you to be obviously as healthy as possible. And plaque harbors a lot of bacteria. So let's just say, hypothetically, you're brushing once a day and see a dentist every, see the dental hygienists every year, there will be a lot there and the cleanings will take longer. And depending on how much money your appointment is, it depends on how long it takes us to clean your teeth. So it is actually less expensive for you to have your teeth cleaned every three months if you can because it doesn't take nearly as long and it's a lot more comfortable too. Imagine if you see the dentist every 10 years. We have to dig, we have to get in there to clean away the plaque and tartar. But the nice thing is we do have things available now to help to numb the area for you, that's not a needle. So I have something that I've had for actually five years now where we just apply something that goes underneath the gums a little bit and that will help to numb up the area so you don't feel any pain and it's not a needle. So if you need that, let me know and I am more than happy to help you with that. It is awesome stuff. So it depends on how often you go to the dentist, how often we would see you. So as I said before, if you haven't been to the dentist in 10 years and you're seeing me for the first time, I can't really tell you yet how often I would like to see you after that because first I have to clean out all of that, plaque, tartar first. And then once your mouth is all clean, then I do have a better idea of how quickly your plaque and tartar comes back. But the best thing to do obviously is to brush every morning, every night for two whole minutes and make sure to floss every single day. But I'll tell you a little secret, okay? Even if you don't floss every day, at least three times a week consistently really, really helps, okay? So do not be that person who says, it's been a couple months since I floss, I'm just not going to, there's no point, you know? There's always a point. Even if it's been two months since you used the floss last, start now at least three times a week, makes such a difference. Now, keep in mind that the gums will not be happy with you if it's been a couple months. So the gums will bleed a ton, a lot, okay? But keep up with it though, keep up with it, and then things will get better. So typically if somebody says to me, listen lady, I don't floss, then I'll probably have to see you for a cleaning every three months. That is the ideal because there will be a lot in there. You might say to me, okay, no, I'm not coming every three months, I'll come every six months. That's perfectly fine, but it just might take me a little bit longer. For those who brush every day twice a day, and maybe they might floss once a week, you know? I'll probably have to see them every four months, four, four and a half months, because six months is just simply too long. Because if you're not able to get in between the teeth every single day, there will be a lot of plaque there. And then when I go to clean the teeth, the gums don't like me. They start to bleed a lot, and then it just takes me longer because I can't see. I'm not saying it's painful because it might not be, but it just takes me longer because I can't see. You know, imagine having a cut on your arm. If you just leave it alone, it's not going to get better. It's going to get worse. You know, you have to clean it. You know, you have to clean it to make it better. So it looks bad, but it will get better. So even if you brush once a day, you might floss once a month, that's okay. Come in to see me to make sure that the teeth are nice and clean, and then I will probably suggest to see you for a cleaning every three or four months. When I see people every six or nine months, it's usually because they brush every day twice a day and they probably use the floss every single day. So if you don't want to see me often, then brush twice a day and make sure the floss every day. It's less expensive for you because you're only seeing me every six or nine months. Now, people often ask me for seniors. Even if they don't have a lot of teeth, I like to see them every six months because their plaque tends to be thicker and it's a lot harder for them to get in there, you know, depending on how old they are. Like my grandma, she is 92, I think. It is hard for her to get in there to clean her teeth. That's not her fault, but she needs to have her teeth cleaned more often, right? Everybody's different. For children, it's kind of the same thing, but the opposite where I like to see them every six months because they have a lot of plaque too. They're not older, but they're younger and they have a hard time to get in there. So it does depend on the age. It depends on the oral hygiene. It just depends on a lot and it depends on staying too. Some people get a lot of stain. Some people hardly get any stain. But I talk about staying in my next video, so make sure to have a look. But if you guys have any questions about that, please just let me know. I am so happy to help and thank you so much for watching.