Friday, October 28, 2011

What is the optimal recall schedule for someone over forty?

Prevention is the best medicine and in the case of frequent recall, whether it is reimbursed by dental insurance or not, it will most likely safe patients money in the long run by preventing problems and allowing dentists to discover any problems that develop at an early stage.

Although most dental insurance covers two recall visits per year,I believe that many patients, especially those over 40 , optimally should have more frequent cleanings. A three month recall is considered the standard recall schedule for patients with a history of periodontal disease. Why should someone wait for this diagnosis to choose a three month recall?

I recommend that if it is affordable, patients over forty should have three to four cleanings per year. If they would like to cut down on non reimbursed expenses, they can choose to forgo an examination on the visits not covered by their insurance.

1 comment:

  1. The subgingival microbiologic composition of diseased periodontal sites was evaluated by darkfield microscopy before and after scaling or local delivery of tetracycline. A standardized sampling and counting method using a crevicular washing technique was developed to determine both numbers and proportions of morphotypes using darkfield microscopy...

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