Apparently, dentists have been lying to you about flossing your whole life. Flossing had been a government recommendation since 1979, then mysteriously disappeared. which tipped off the Associated Press to the seedy underbelly of the floss industry.
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Donn’s research – which was backed up by a similar review conducted by an independent panel at the Cochrane Collaboration, an independent network of researchers, professionals, patients, carers and people interested in health – found that of the handful of studies comparing brushing to brushing and flossing, none produced reliable evidence that flossing was beneficial to dental health.
In a letter to the AP, the government later acknowledged the fact an inadequate amount of research had gone into the effectiveness of flossing. That is, until a year ago when the flossing recommendation quietly disappeared.
And the Australian Dental Association recommends that all people over 11-years-old should floss.
Researchers found that companies that make dental floss paid for most of the studies and sometimes designed and conducted the research themselves.
For long, we’ve been told frequent flossing is good for the teeth. “They just looked into what they did every day in their clinical practice and what they would recommend for patients”, said Araujo. However, there seems to be little proof that flossing actually prevents cavities or gum disease, as has always been believed.
As the AP story points out, the guidelines are required by law to be based on scientific evidence, and that’s where the rubber met the road in the case of flossing. “[.] most of these studies used outdated methods or tested few people”. Some lasted only two weeks, … It’s also thought this plaque can lead to gingivitis, which is the inflammation of the gums.
But before you toss out your floss completely, Wayne Aldredge, President of the American Academy of Periodontology says those studies are flawed.
That’s a rather monumental revelation – especially considering how often we’re reminded to floss our teeth – and considering that the global market for dental floss is expected to reach nearly $US2 billion ($2.6 billion) next year (with half of it in the United States).
According to medical literature, if you floss incorrectly, it can cause more harm than good, damaging your gums, teeth and the hard work your dentist has put in, as well as possibly causing infections due to dislodged bacteria.
The AP’s conclusion: research shows flossing does little to plow through plaque and isn’t a reliable tool in the reduction of gum disease. It also said there was “weak, very unreliable evidence” from 10 of those studies that flossing could help reduce plaque after one or three months, and that none of the studies could prove flossing prevents tooth decay.
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47 ABC took to the streets to ask people how often they floss and got an interesting combination of answers. “It’s low risk, low cost”, National Institutes of Health dentist Tim Iafolla told CNBC.
