According to the American Dental Association, it's recommended to brush your teeth at least twice a day. While many Americans keep up with daily brushing, not everyone visits their dentist for periodic dental cleanings. This is a problem because periodic dental cleanings are just as important for your overall health and wellbeing as regular check-ups with your primary care physician.

But what exactly makes periodic dental cleanings so important? What makes a dentist more equipped to clean your teeth than the average person at home with a toothbrush? Here, we'll take a look at why periodic dental cleanings are recommended and what they do for your health.

What's the purpose of dental cleanings and checkups?

People of all ages ought to visit their dentist about every six months for periodic dental cleanings and check-ups. These visits ensure your teeth and gums are healthy and happy. One of the ways your dentist keeps your teeth and gums healthy is by detecting, cleaning, and identifying cavities.

While it's true that you can clear away plaque and bacteria with your handy-dandy toothbrush and dental floss, you may not be able to tell whether or where you have a cavity forming in your teeth. Left untreated, cavities can worsen, which puts you at risk for gum disease and cavity pain.

Another important part of your six-month dental checkup is your oral cancer screening. While oral cancer most often occurs in those over the age of 40, people of any age can develop it. Catching oral cancer early can help to make treatment more effective.

Dental cleanings help remove tartar

The key reason why the American Dental Association recommends brushing your teeth twice a day is because it only takes 24 hours for plaque to solidify into tartar. Tartar, or dental calculus, is a hard substance that traps cavity-causing bacteria against your teeth. Typically, only a dentist can effectively remove tartar from your teeth because its removal requires special tools.

Fortunately, you can now reduce your risk for cavities and gum disease by using LIVFRESH plaque removing dental gel and tartar removing dental gel. This gel isn't a toothpaste (and brushing your teeth is still necessary), but the gel helps to fight plaque on a molecular level. Each of the ingredients in LIVFRESH is on the FDA's GRAS list and the dental gel contains zero abrasives, parabens, sugar, gluten, triclosan, or antimicrobials.

With LIVFRESH dental gel, you can fight back against plaque and tartar so the next time you visit your dentist for periodic dental cleanings you can feel more confident in your overall health. To learn more about our plaque removal dental gel, contact LIVFRESH today.