health

Medical benefits of dental floss unproven

12 Comments
By JEFF DONN

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Medical benefits of dental floss unproven

Unproven?

I suppose you could conduct a test on several thousand people half who flossed and the other half who left bits of decaying food between their teeth and see which group had the better dental hygiene after a couple of years.

Some things you don't need to perform a complicated "study" on. You just use your common sense.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Having the study that shows the efficacy of a single flossing is just silly. If anything, these studies have shown that many people do not know how to floss properly and need to be shown.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Your worst cavities are between the teeth = your Dentist must drill from the top of the tooth to reach the between the teeth cavity.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I'v been flossing my teeth since 1955 and they are all in very good condition.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I have to agree that flossing is not too effective in plague removal. That's why I have my teeth cleaned as often as my dentist recommends. A tooth brush cannot reach the tight spaces between the teeth where bits of food and bacteria build up. This bacteria and its by-products turns into plague and then hardens into tartar, a dental calculus which is mineralized onto the teeth and very difficult to remove. But if you don't floss, the tooth enamel breaks down and you can get horrible breath because of tooth decay, cavities, and gingivitis. I still feel that making sure to floss is great dental advice and great advice for living well. It only take a few minutes each day and can help achieve better overall health to live a higher quality of life. In the end flossing and tooth health are synonymous with living a great life.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Novenchama,

"flossing is not too effective in plague removal."

Have to agree with you their, laddie. Flossing doesn't do very much for a person with PLAGUE!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@Bertie: I actually don't floss at all... I tried it for a bit but found i never got that fresh clean feeling you get after a dentist visit (where they chip off the plaque). I think it's more taking care of your teeth beyond just brushing..not just about flossing or not.

In my case, I have a simple tool that I use to scrape my teeth every so often. Like the dental hook but no sharp point. Coupled with mouthwash and my dentist thinks my teeth are in great shape.

As for my wife, who flosses daily, he often complains that she cuts her gums or is otherswise causing potential infection by cleaning too heavily.

Not to say all flossing is so bad..but there are certainly cases where NOT flossing is better.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@Noven, I meant.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

In my case, I have a simple tool that I use to scrape my teeth every so often. Like the dental hook but no sharp point. Coupled with mouthwash and my dentist thinks my teeth are in great shape.

When a dentist scrapes the tartar from your teeth they are etched = a dentist usually polishes the teeth after to take out those etches that would most likely easily harbor bacteria.

Your best tarter busting toothbrush is made by Emmi-Dent from Germany (very good for sensitive teeth) and you need to use their toothpaste also. Sonic-Care is more physical and the rotary brushes like Braun will be better at polishing/buffing teeth. Try to stay away from Fluoride toothpaste that is damaging to teeth and displaces body calcium.

"Gum soft picks" (made in Germany) work very well on cleaning between teeth with minimal gum irritation.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

In Japan, the G-U-M UNWAX floss made by Sunstar (usually available at Matsumoto Kiyoshi, etc) seems to work well

0 ( +0 / -0 )

kaynide,

To be honest I very rarely floss. But I do use a Radius toothbrush. They are brilliant. Very different to an ordinary toothbrush. The brush is much larger than a regular toothbrush. There are very many bristles and they are very soft. So you almost get the effect of flossing. It's the closest thing I've found to that "fresh clean feeling you get after a dentist visit" that you describe.

Check it out. You can find Radius toothbrushes on the internet.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

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