The regular dental check-up – why every six months?
Although dentists in many developed countries recommend check-ups at six-month intervals, there are no high quality data to support this recommendation.
Dental health is an important part of a person’s overall health, and catching problems early can make treatment much easier to perform. The oral health of the population in many countries has improved dramatically over the last three decades. This fact, coupled with the cost of check-ups and the scarcity of dentists, means that it is appropriate to ask how often a person should be seen.
Reviewing the best available data led the Cochrane Authors to conclude that there is not enough evidence to draw any conclusions regarding the potential effects, good or bad, of altering the recall interval between dental check-ups.
“There is insufficient evidence to support or refute the practice of encouraging patients to attend for dental check-ups at six-monthly intervals,” says the review’s lead author Dr Paul Beirne, of the University Dental School and Hospital, Wilton, Cork, Ireland.
The authors say that their work highlights the need for further research into this issue.
Media Contact
All latest news from the category: Health and Medicine
This subject area encompasses research and studies in the field of human medicine.
Among the wide-ranging list of topics covered here are anesthesiology, anatomy, surgery, human genetics, hygiene and environmental medicine, internal medicine, neurology, pharmacology, physiology, urology and dental medicine.
Newest articles
Microscopic basis of a new form of quantum magnetism
Not all magnets are the same. When we think of magnetism, we often think of magnets that stick to a refrigerator’s door. For these types of magnets, the electronic interactions…
An epigenome editing toolkit to dissect the mechanisms of gene regulation
A study from the Hackett group at EMBL Rome led to the development of a powerful epigenetic editing technology, which unlocks the ability to precisely program chromatin modifications. Understanding how…
NASA selects UF mission to better track the Earth’s water and ice
NASA has selected a team of University of Florida aerospace engineers to pursue a groundbreaking $12 million mission aimed at improving the way we track changes in Earth’s structures, such…
