I thought twice a year seems reasonable for cleaning. Some people have to go in 4 times

I go like once every three years. Just brush your teeth, they'll be fine.

Except that isn't necessarily true. No one brushes their teeth perfectly, which is why its recommended that you have plaque removed twice yearly or roughly every six months. I used to be a dental assistant. No one, even the best of examples, hits every spot perfectly. And the results over time can be damaging. There are also other screenings performed. We've caught early cancer development between cleanings. Other issues can be caught early too that may lead to complications if left unchecked. There are also certain conditions that people may be unaware of that can create a harmful oral environment. This isn't a scam. It's based on broad data for a very diverse population. I've never met anyone, even dentists, who don't benefit from at least an annual cleaning and exam. I've never seen a single patient waste their time coming twice annually. There's always preventative measures to take. Oral health can also affect other organ systems.

Those are usually for SRP to prevent or treat gum disease. In fairness, that *usually* is due to poor hygiene. On average, most people, even the ones with good hygiene, benefit from 2 cleanings and screenings per year. If you only go when you have a problem, you almost certainly could have caught the issue much earlier and prevented damage or decreased your chances of more serious outcomes, such as tooth or jaw bone loss or infection, including of the heart and other systems. People can do whatever they want, obviously. But almost everyone is better off going every six months if they can. You can go less and save whatever low amount dental insurance is, but all you're doing is increasing your odds of health problems to save a few bucks a month. I saw a young guy in the emergency department a few months ago for what ended up being pericarditis secondary to a dental problem that would have been discovered on dental xrays and exams before it became a major problem. He didn't even know the problem was that big yet. A dentist would have known when it was small. Really small. To each their own.

Even if rare, you may prevent early death by just getting your teeth cleaned and screened every six months. It's worth the few bucks to me. This is why I don't like to use words like "scam" so loosely. People tend to conflate shit they don't want to do or pay for or anecdotes with fraud. YOU may indeed be okay up until now. But many others, on average, weren't (hence the recommendations).