Good oral hygiene is the best way to prevent any dental issues, and visiting your dentist regularly is a vital part of keeping your mouth healthy. A professional cleaning takes between 45 minutes and an hour, and most people are able to go twice a year, but some need to go more frequently.
Patients who have a history of gum disease may need to go three or four times a year to keep everything in check.
How much does a dental cleaning cost?
The cost of a regular hygiene appointment varies, depending on what diagnostics you are due for and where your dentist’s office is located. Patients who live in rural areas can expect to pay less than those living in an urban area.
A typical, prophylactic cleaning runs between $75 and $200, during which your hygienist will remove plaque and tartar buildup as well as any staining.
Patients diagnosed with periodontal disease may need a deep cleaning or scaling and root planing, which can cost up to $1200. This is a more involved cleaning that is a corrective treatment rather than a preventative cleaning. You will be numb because your hygienist will scale tartar off of your teeth well below the gum line, so the anesthetic will help keep you comfortable. Maintenance appointments to make sure you do not have recurring periodontal disease will cost between $100 and $250 at an interval of every 3 or 4 months.
Dental X-rays are necessary for preventing and diagnosing tooth decay. A full set of X-rays costs between $200 and $300 and is taken every 5 to 7 years. The full set includes your interior teeth, your front teeth, and your posterior teeth. Check-up x-rays of just your posterior teeth are taken annually and cost between $75 and $150. X-rays are the only way to see what is going on within your teeth, so they are very important and emit minimal radiation.
Your dentist will also perform an examination after your dental cleaning. Dental exams can cost between $50 and $100, but you may only need an exam once per year. Keeping up with your x-rays and exams is much less costly than treating problems as they arise. Prevention is cheaper than treatment!
What if I have dental insurance?
If you have dental insurance, your insurance company will have a list of providers in their network and should cover 100% of the cost of your preventative cleaning appointments at least twice a year. There is also usually some amount of coverage for restorative treatments. If you do not have dental insurance or if you go to a dentist that is out of network, there will be some out of pocket cost to you.
Keeping up with your oral hygiene and regular visits to your dentist is the best line of defense against periodontal disease and other dental issues. Your dentist will help you understand how frequently you need to come in for preventative cleanings to make sure your smile stays healthy!
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