diff --git a/src/paperless_ai/vector_store.py b/src/paperless_ai/vector_store.py
index 5a866488f..06a1cae69 100644
--- a/src/paperless_ai/vector_store.py
+++ b/src/paperless_ai/vector_store.py
@@ -599,9 +599,12 @@ class PaperlessSqliteVecVectorStore(BasePydanticVectorStore):
         """
         if not self.table_exists():
             return
-        live = self._conn.execute(
-            "SELECT count(*) FROM " + DEFAULT_TABLE_NAME,
-        ).fetchone()[0]
+        # document_chunks is a plain indexed table kept in lockstep with the
+        # vec0 table (see _index_chunks()/_delete_chunks_by_document_id()),
+        # so it gives an identical live-row count to `SELECT count(*) FROM
+        # documents` without vec0's full table scan -- count(*) has no
+        # equivalent point-lookup fast path, unlike an EQ constraint on `id`.
+        live = self._conn.execute("SELECT count(*) FROM document_chunks").fetchone()[0]
         total = int(self._meta_get("total_inserts") or str(live))
         if not force and total <= max(live, 1) * COMPACT_BLOAT_RATIO:
             return