People could cut down the costs of trips to the dentist by having regular check-ups, it has been claimed.

Local paper the Star reported individuals could avoid costly emergency dentist treatments by ensuring they maintain good oral health and part of this process is seeing a dentist on a regular basis.

The article stated: "Scaling and polishing is cheaper when there are less stains and calculus and treatment is done in a shorter time."

It added that people should schedule an appointment at least once a year and although the majority of people do not see a dentist unless they have a problem, waiting until treatment is necessary could be the wrong way to keep costs down.

Elsewhere, the International Diabetes Foundation recently stated a link between the development of periodontal disease and diabetes has been discovered.

The foundation noted there are approximately 246 million people who suffer from diabetes in the world.