I just thought I'd share my recent experience. I hadn't been to a dentist in almost 15 years so I went to a new one. I sat down with the cleaning person and she said I had very little plaque and made a comment on how well I must take care of my teeth.
What a joke. Cleanings, check ups, and x-rays are a scam.
Brush and floss regularly folks, the rest is just a money grab by dentists and insurance companies.
This varies a LOT. Rosy already mentioned her autoimmune disorder. You can also just have genetically bad teeth/gums. For example, I brush and floss twice a day and use a plastic tooth scaler as well. I didn't go to the dentist for two and a half years while doing all that and my gums were in such bad shape -- bleeding and receding -- that I had to have four deep cleanings and a gum graft in order to keep my teeth in my damn head. I did what I was supposed to do. It didn't matter; I get bad plaque buildup, no matter how well I brush, and the only that keeps that buildup from happening is very regular cleanings.
It's like asthma, or autoimmune diseases, or plenty of other problems: Sometimes your body is good to you and keeps on keeping on, no monitoring required. Sometimes you need medical help or you will be in a very, very bad spot. If you don't need the help, bless your lucky stars.
(Re: the actual topic: I didn't have dental insurance for a few years because it wasn't worth it to pay for it on the ACA, where it was real expensive. I now get it through work for a decent price, and it ends up being a financial wash for me for my regular checkups + a yearly x-ray, which I like to get right now because I have some incoming wisdom teeth that have been Truly Annoying and that I want monitored. If I don't need it for catastrophic stuff, I'm fine with what I pay for it. If I do need it for catastrophic stuff, then I'll be very glad I have it.)
