If you've spent much time online or reading the news lately, you've surely seen the news about flossing.
Their conclusion?
"Medical benefit of dental floss unproven"
Many are rejoicing and tossing their floss to the curb but I'm here to inform you that it's not that simple. There are strings attached.
The article in the Associated Press is factual. The title is correct. However, there have been a multitude of interpretations that are very misleading.
The bottom line
The article concluded that there have not been any rigorous controlled independent long term studies which showed the benefit of flossing.
Here's what we do know:
The benefits of flossing:
1. By and large, there are no negative effects to flossing.
2. Not flossing, in turn, causes gum inflammation that leads to bleeding gums. Try not flossing for a week and start again and you will see bleeding for few days until the inflammation is gone.
3. In my decades of experience, I can say with certainty that we see less dental disease in people who floss. Everyone at Making You Smile NYC flosses and recommends flossing to their patients and family members.
The downside:
1. Let us know when researchers find one.
A final thought:
A tooth has 5 sides: the cheek side, tongue side and chewing side are all cleaned by the toothbrush.
What about the other two sides?
The two other sides are the ones facing other teeth and sadly, the brush can't reach those. Floss on the other hand does a fine job of getting to those hard-to-reach places. The toothbrush and floss work together to ensure all 5 sides get the attention they need.
Therefore if you decide not to floss, you should probably consider not brushing either, and we'll be seeing a lot more of you at Making You Smile NYC.
At Making You Smile NYC, we are committed to preventive care. We strongly believe that flossing will reduce the likelihood of dental disease, and so do the American Dental Association and a long list of professional dental organizations.
For those of us in the dental community, treating disease is more profitable than having patients with healthy teeth. That being said, it is our ethical duty to make the best recommendations for the oral and overall health of our patients and the lot of us want you to floss.
The decision is yours: to floss or not to floss, that is the question.
Your Team at Making You Smile NYC
