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About this tool
Work out a dental recall interval from your risk factors within the 3-24 month evidence-based range, and export a calendar reminder.
The six-month dental check-up is a convention, not a rule: evidence-based guidance sets the recall interval anywhere from 3 to 24 months for adults, and 3 to 12 months for patients under 18, according to the person's risk of new disease. This planner scores thirteen routine caries and periodontal risk factors, maps the score onto a band, keeps the resulting interval inside the guideline range for the age, and gives you the due date, a reminder date two weeks earlier and a downloadable calendar file.
Open Dentist Visit Reminder Planner on AltFTool — it loads instantly in your browser.
Enter your date of last check-up and age, then tick the risk factors that apply — each checkbox shows the weight it adds.
Your score maps to a recall interval kept inside the guideline range: 3-24 months for adults, capped at 12 months under 18.
Read the suggested interval and due date, then click Calendar file for a dental-check-up .ics with a 14-day alarm, or Copy plan.
The score maps onto a band and an interval that always sits inside the published 3–24 month range.
Under-18s are capped at 12 months, matching the separate range set for children and young people.
A standard .ics file with a 14-day alarm imports into any calendar app without an account.
Somewhere between every 3 and 24 months if you are an adult, and between every 3 and 12 months if you are under 18. Evidence-based guidance rejects a fixed six-month rule and asks the dentist to set the interval from your risk of new decay and gum disease. Low-risk adults with no history of disease can safely go up to two years; people with active gum disease or recent decay are usually seen every three to six months.
The main ones are new decay or a filling in the last two years, bleeding gums or deep periodontal pockets, smoking or any tobacco use, sugary food or drink more than about four times a day, and a dry mouth from medicines or a medical condition. Not using a 1350–1500 ppm fluoride toothpaste, not cleaning between the teeth, wearing appliances and missing appointments add to the picture.
For a genuinely low-risk adult, a 24-month interval is within the guideline range. Beyond that you are outside it, and the problem with decay and gum disease is that both are painless until they are advanced — by the time something hurts, the treatment is usually bigger. Book sooner than any recall date for pain, swelling, a broken tooth or bleeding that does not settle.
The range for under-18s is narrower: 3 to 12 months rather than 3 to 24. Children's teeth develop faster, decay progresses more quickly through thinner enamel, and habits are still being set, so the guidance does not allow the two-year interval that a low-risk adult can have.