Our dental insurance is going up to $110/mo for the two of us for a cleanings-only plan with 50% xray.

Why would you pay $110/month for a cleaning only plan???? I bet if you went directly to your dentist, they would take under 100/month for cleanings plus discounts on other work excluding complex stuff like crowns. Or you can just negotiate cash pay for each time you go to the dentist for a cleaning and periodic X-rays.

I also found over the years that a dental hygienist does a MUCH better job cleaning my teeth than the dentist did. Nowadays, the dentist pops in after my cleaning for a quick peek after the hygienist is done. I see the dentist two or three times a year for 2-3 minutes each time. But the hygienist spends 45 minutes doing a good cleaning. Also, every few years I have a deep cleaning (they go deeper under the gums) that takes 2 hours spread across 2 sessions. Though ever since starting to use an electric vibrating toothbrush, I may not need the deep cleanings anymore, or certainly not as often, because the areas just under the gumline are kept much cleaner now.