Despite being dentist-recommended since the early twentieth century, researchers have yet to conduct sufficient, reliable studies to support the claim that flossing effectively prevents cavities and gum disease. “Keeping the spaces between your teeth free of plaque and trapped food simply makes sense”.
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“The condition we’re trying to prevent, which is gum disease, is something that takes years to develop, and most of the studies only last for a few weeks or months”, he says.
What does the evidence say? “The findings? The evidence for flossing is “weak, very unreliable, ‘ of ‘very low” quality, and carries ‘a moderate to large potential for bias'”.
He said “more sophisticated trials” were needed.
“Ideally, trials would run for 12 months or longer, which would also be important in any study that considered dental caries as an outcome, since it takes longer for caries to develop to a stage that can be detected by any of the methods now available”, they wrote.
The American Dental Association started promoting flossing in 1908. I strongly recommend that everyone asks their dentist how to floss. But beyond that smug toss of nylon into the garbage, are there proven benefits of flossing?
Johnson & Johnson spokesman Marc Boston said floss helps remove plaque.
But AP revealed that evidence used in Procter & Gamble’s statement was discredited in 2011. And Johnson & Johnson declined to respond to the news agency after being shown research that refuted their claims. The report looked at over two dozen studies examining the effectiveness of flossing.
Floss can occasionally cause harm, with poor technique leading to damaged gums and teeth and also dislodging bad bacteria, which can lead to infections. You should be moving the floss up and down the sides of the teeth instead of in a sawing motion. The studies generally compared the use of a toothbrush alone with combined use of a toothbrush and floss.
“And that is that patients who have good oral hygiene through brushing, flossing and cleaning between their teeth, and are making efforts to reduce the amount of sugar in their diet. they are seeing good results and are having positive oral health”.
“Since neither the 2010 nor 2015 Advisory Committees reviewed evidence on brushing and flossing teeth, the authors of the current edition decided not to carry forward the information on brushing and flossing included in past editions of the guidelines”, she says. Floss makers seek ADA approval through its Seal of Approval program (which they pay for) because consumers trust the ADA’s recommendation when looking to purchase dental products.
“It’s low risk, low cost”.
‘We know there’s a possibility that it works, so we feel comfortable telling people to go ahead and do it’.
What do other countries say?
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Next time your dentist gives you crap about not flossing, you can tell that sadist to shut the hell up because there’s actually little to no evidence that rubbing that string back and forth in your gums ’til they bleed has any health benefits whatsoever.
