diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 7b15ec3..f0a453f 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -14,6 +14,11 @@ These are the latest changes on the project's `master` branch that have not yet
   Follow the same format as previous releases by categorizing your feature into "Added", "Changed", "Deprecated", "Removed", "Fixed", or "Security".
 --->
 
+## [0.5.0] - 2025-05-02
+
+### Changed
+- Removed a redundant check for the total amount of items in order to determine if there is a next or previous page. This gets rid of two `select count(*)` queries that were being executed, speeding up the pagination process.
+
 ## [0.4.0] - 2023-10-06
 
 ### Changed
diff --git a/lib/rails_cursor_pagination/paginator.rb b/lib/rails_cursor_pagination/paginator.rb
index 99806c4..1c3bb85 100644
--- a/lib/rails_cursor_pagination/paginator.rb
+++ b/lib/rails_cursor_pagination/paginator.rb
@@ -216,11 +216,10 @@ def custom_order_field?
     # @return [TrueClass, FalseClass]
     def previous_page?
       if paginate_forward?
-        # When paginating forward, we can only have a previous page if we were
-        # provided with a cursor and there were records discarded after applying
-        # this filter. These records would have to be on previous pages.
-        @cursor.present? &&
-          filtered_and_sorted_relation.reorder('').size < total
+        # When paginating forward, if a cursor is present it must mean we have
+        # come from a previous page that has provided us a cursor. Therefore, we
+        # can assume that there is a previous page.
+        @cursor.present?
       else
         # When paginating backwards, if we managed to load one more record than
         # requested, this record will be available on the previous page.
@@ -237,10 +236,10 @@ def next_page?
         # requested, this record will be available on the next page.
         records_plus_one.size > @page_size
       else
-        # When paginating backward, if applying our cursor reduced the number
-        # records returned, we know that the missing records will be on
-        # subsequent pages.
-        filtered_and_sorted_relation.reorder('').size < total
+        # When paginating backward, if a cursor is present it must mean we have
+        # come from a next page that has provided us a cursor. Therefore, we
+        # can assume that there is a next page.
+        @cursor.present?
       end
     end