Visiting your dental hygienist every six months is a recommendation primarily determined by the health of your gums, not necessarily how white your teeth look.

Though we teach patients how to keep their mouths healthy and how to remove the bacteria found on their slide, there are times that the bacteria persists and continues to infect the patient’s mouth and their overall health. For this reason, we will continue to monitor oral bacteria at each appointment even after patients commit to prioritizing their oral health.

Many of these signs and symptoms can also be caused by things other than cancer, or even by other cancers. It’s still very important to see a doctor or dentist if any of these conditions lasts more than 2 weeks so that the cause can be found and treated, if needed.