The hygienist's advice to floss daily to prevent gum disease lacks hard evidence of benefits, a new investigation suggests. The U.S. government has recommended flossing for decades. It was included in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which stated: "A combined approach of reducing the amount of time sugars and starches are in the mouth, drinking fluoridated water, and brushing and flossing teeth, is the most effective way to reduce dental caries." In the 2015 version, that recommendation is no longer included. The most recent rigorous research, focusing on 25 studies that generally compared the use of a toothbrush with the combination of toothbrushes and floss found that evidence for flossing is "weak, very unreliable," of "very low" quality, and carries "a moderate to large potential for bias." A 2015 review published in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology also concluded "the majority of available studies fail to demonstrate that flossing is generally effective in plaque removal." http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/dental-floss-1.3703798
After a long day, take a thread of tooth floss, floss between your molars, and then smell the tooth floss. If that smells clean and healthy to you ... well, what can I say. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I was told over twenty by my dentist over 20 years ago to take up flossing and I would be able to keep my teeth. Having followed her recommendation I have not needed to visit a dentist at all since (without losing any teeth or having any toothache) I can see that it does not remove plaque on the main surface of the teeth but I combine flossing with brushing and am fairly sure that brushing alone would not manage to clean between the teeth themselves (and down to the gums) as well as the flossing does. I am surprised a survey would show no benefits but I am certainly not going to stop for now. I wonder who were the people who took part in the survey and how representative they were.
If someone thinks brushing is an effective form of plaque removal, but flossing isn't, how do they explain interdental caries? Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I agree with mtf, maybe it doesn't prevent cavities, but if you have a breath problem, you must floss. I've brushed my teeth and then flossed, and literally pulled large chunks of food out. I don't know of any other way to remove that stuff.
I suspect that the reason so many people don't find dental floss useful is that they use this crappy new waxed floss. The whole point of flossing is the abrasion of the thread on the enamel, and if the thread is waxed, there's not going to be any abrasion. You might as well floss your teeth with a piece of spaghetti. I don't know where the concept of waxed floss came from, but I've always wondered, "Who buys this crap?" The answer now seems to be "everybody but me." There are several stores around here that ONLY sell waxed floss! I'll probably have to order it from Amazon.com!
