How Often Should You Visit the Dentist? While it's true that visiting the dentist twice a year is a good rule of thumb for many people, the truth is that you have your own unique smile needs. So it depends on your oral hygiene, habits, and individual medical conditions.

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.