How often you get a check-up at the dentist depends on your individual oral health. People with a higher risk of oral diseases should see a dentist every three to six months; people with a low risk should have a check-up one to two years. Children should have check-ups every six months.

The average person should have two cleanings a year, one every six months. But, 42% of Americans stated they do not see their dentists as often as they would like to, falling below at least one yearly cleaning. With 85% of Americans considering oral health to be 'very' or 'extremely' important for their health.

A dentist is a doctor trained to specialize in teeth, gums, nerves, and your jaw. Orthodontists are dentists as well, but their specialty within dentistry focuses on correcting bites, occlusion, which is how your teeth come in contact with one another, and the straightness of your teeth.