SHARON PRUITTAn investigation spearheaded by the Associated Press (AP) has turned up a woeful lack of evidence pointing to a tangible health benefit related to the U.S. government’s recommendation that Americans floss every day for maximal dental health.
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“Flossing helps remove plaque that is located between your teeth and can not be reached with a toothbrush”, the group said in a statement. The Associated Press says it found that evidence to support flossing is weak.
Berguson said he will still recommend flossing to his patients.
But for those of you who have felt guilty every time you headed to the dentist’s office, it’s a conversation definitely worth having with your dentist! Dust bunnies, something that rolled under there, some toy, maybe a little critter.
“If someone has large gaps between the teeth, flossing won’t get rid of food particles and plaque that brushing alone failed to dislodge”. Plaque is the main cause of gum disease. Plus, those government sneaks tried to down low remove flossing from their dietary guidelines in 2015 because of “weak, very unreliable”, evidence of “very low” quality, which has “a moderate to large potential for bias”.
“Slide the floss in between the teeth”, he says, “and up the sides of the tooth, in effect, not like sawing a motion”.
Its scientific adviser, Prof Damien Walmsley, says: “Small inter-dental brushes are preferable for cleaning the area in between the teeth, where there is space to do so”.
“I can nearly guarantee that dentists will tell you to continue to floss regularly”, she said. That’s where flossing comes in, he said. “Flossing is not part of the basics”, he said.
Still, the move to delete flossing from the health guidelines isn’t sitting well with some dentists. Researchers could locate no studies on the effectiveness of flossing combined with teeth brushing for cavity prevention.
To highlight the problem with flossing recommendations, the AP looked at studies about oral hygiene.
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Regardless, he added, Americans should still floss. Until we know more, your call is probably as good as anyone’s, so do whatever seems to work for you.
