Whether it takes two visits or six, you will eventually get to the point where your hygienist will establish your personal recall program, a schedule of hygiene appointments. This is another moment when your good work habits pay off for you in time and money. Your hygienist will decide how much time you can go between hygiene recalls based on a number of factors:
— Amount of gum recession and bone loss. If you have pockets over 3 mm and a lot of bone loss, it means you’ll not only have to work harder at keeping them healthy but y ou’ll also need more recall visits. Take her/his advice on this.
— Your overall attitude. She/He will evaluate your stick-to-it-iveness and your willingness to stay involved with your oral hygiene program. The bottom line, the more you do, the less your hygienist will have to do and the longer you can go between recall appointments.
In addition, she/he may take into account her own evaluation of you and your life style. She/He might consider things like your personality type, your age, and certain habits that could ultimately affect the success of the treatment, such as whether you smoke, drink, or grind your teeth. Even little things, like how much you travel, can affect your recall program because taking care of your mouth when you travel is more difficult. You can be very helpful by telling her or him about habit that you think is adversely affecting your oral health. She/he doesn’t want to know in order to criticize you, but in order to help.