Dental cleanings... a scam?

Submitted by David on Mon, 2008-03-17 00:55

The folks at Freakonomics took on the question is tooth cleaning a scam?

The review looked for evidence to answer two related questions:

The first is, do scale and polish procedures [having your teeth cleaned] lead to any difference in periodontal health compared with no scale and polish? Second, does the interval between these scale and polishing procedures make any difference?

The results were not heartening for those of us who have suffered through dozens upon dozens of cleanings. The meta analysis of qualifying studies suggested that the evidence was mixed, at best.

(HT: Evangelical Outpost)

Comments

dmodderman

Mon, 2008-03-17 13:55

The timespan between my last two cleanings was about 4 years. I had 3 minor cavities. But this was likely due to the fact that I was not flossing consistently (cavities were between my teeth). I'm now flossing religiously, so I'll wait another 4 years for the sake of additional data for the study :-)