I don't remember exactly what was done last time and only knew when they pulled up the xrays and I saw the date of the last one. They hygienist sits you down and just does it as if it is normal. I googled and found what you mentioned.
I am low risk for cavities. Those exact words came out of his mouth. I was pissed off after the fact, because I'm paying out of pocket for this, and for fluoride treatment. I have in my records to not give me fluoride treatment but she called it "varnish" which caught me off guard.
I speculate the office got bought out by PE as dentists have changed over the last few years.
They also told my wife she needs a night guard. She's been wearing one for 12 years.
I slowly see why there are people who do not trust medical professionals.
I think the slider isn't between trusting and not trusting medical professionals - it's between being a passive and active patient. We have to involve ourselves in our care. Educate yourself, get second opinions, connect with fellow patients and national experts. And ffs, do not listen to yt/x/tiktok people for anything.
I'm telling you this because my father was the same way you are. he avoided going to the doctor at all and diagnosed himself.
He also smoked for 60 years. Yeah. He had his first heart attack in his 30s. Very avoidable. His second in his 40s. Then another in his 50s. Finally died of lung cancer in his 70s. Honestly a miracle he made it that far.
You can tell if you're feeling okay. But a lot of diseases have no symptoms. The reality is you cannot run your own blood tests. If you're young, maybe it's fine. But as you get older it no longer flies. What happens is you will become very sick, realize it's due to something like high blood pressure or diabetes, and you're WAY too far gone to fix it. The earlier you get on top of bad markers, the better. You don't want to live 30+ years with something like high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
Maybe you don't smoke (good for you), but that doesn't save you. Neither does living an active lifestyle. You can get high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart failure, etc regardless of your lifestyle. There're people who die MUCH younger than my father did while being much healthier.
If it helps, keep in mind most medical issues don't kill you. They just lower your quality of life, sometimes a lot. So, if you've decided to stick it out, you might as well try to live the best life you can. Nobody wants to be chronically fatigued, or have bathroom troubles, or lose their hair, or whatever.