Incidentally, I have been trying, with limited success, to start flossing this summer.
Gilbert and Sullivan wrote:
http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/flossing-is-a-complete-waste-of-time-investigation/news-story/461d8419ce2d8054f4f19609cc804a05Well, well, well.
Was just about to post this. I've always questioned the functionality of most dental techniques, so this information comes as no surprise. I've gotten so many infections from regular "cleanings", and it's been proven that fillings, braces, etc. are not healthy for the rest of the body.
You're much better off brushing your tongue. Seriously.
This story is a bunch of new mass media bs, that these stupid journalists cover. Empirically I've found flossing to be great for me in my life: self comfort, sleep quality, self confidence etc. Yes it isn't a golden bullet for plaque biuld up prevention which happens naturally. I use the nail file on a finger nail clip to remove plaque on my lower front teeth and the dentist removes the rest. But removing debris between teeth and stimulating the gums is good. We just don't have enough quality studies because most people in society are pigs (subjects) and most scientists a bunch of un excellent and arrogant bureaucrats. Some dentists I imagine can be a$&holes too and phoning it in or careless. I've had the privilege of having a few very skilled hygienists in my life. People who don't floss and otherwise consider themselves classy rich and beautiful, with makeup and expensive clothes, are poseurs and pigs.
I never thought flossing was a way of combatting plaque. But you know, if you're got spinach stuck between two teeth, what are you going to do?
Brushing, flossing, meh. But when that root starts hurtin time to grab a forcep and give it cold steel and sunshine
Jonny_Joepete wrote:
..... I use the nail file on a finger nail clip to remove plaque on my lower front teeth and the dentist removes the rest.....
..... People who don't floss and otherwise consider themselves classy rich and beautiful, with makeup and expensive clothes, are poseurs and pigs.
Jesus dude, you sound way too hard core about this. OCD maybe?
If people change their habits based on the results of one AP investigation (not even a study), against years of wisdom and knowledge, then they're probably just looking for a way to be lazy about their dental habits in the first place.
My story: For the first 25 years of my life, I only brushed everyday, never flossed. During that time, I had only 1 cavity (before I was a teenager). Then, from 25 to 27, I had 7 cavities in 2 years -- all between the teeth. Since then, I've been flossing (in addition to brushing). No cavities since then, either. I just turned 32.
I believe that not flossing eventually catches up with people. It's not intuitive to me that it would stop plaque formation, but little chunks of food caught in between teeth & rotting everyday for years eventually catches up with you.
the study sez:
Count dentist Damien Walmsley, scientific adviser to the British Dental Association, among the sceptics. “It’s important to tell people to do the basics. Flossing is not part of the basics.â€
I can't even believe people are actually agreeing with the report. I can't go one day not having flossed and usually floss twice a day. Do you really want food sitting in your teeth? Flossing removes so much of the food. I am grossed out even thinking of not flossing.
I agree that flossing is good. My gums get all itchy and inflamed if I go a few days without flossing. And my mental health is better when I floss. Having a clean mouth is important.
Were you taking any medications (or new medications) during this period of time where you had the 7 cavities? Only time I ever had cavities was when I was taking a prescription drug that gave me the worst f*cking cottonmouth of all time. Have had no problems since discontinuing.
laughing wrote:
If people change their habits based on the results of one AP investigation (not even a study), against years of wisdom and knowledge, then they're probably just looking for a way to be lazy about their dental habits in the first place.
My story: For the first 25 years of my life, I only brushed everyday, never flossed. During that time, I had only 1 cavity (before I was a teenager). Then, from 25 to 27, I had 7 cavities in 2 years -- all between the teeth. Since then, I've been flossing (in addition to brushing). No cavities since then, either. I just turned 32.
I believe that not flossing eventually catches up with people. It's not intuitive to me that it would stop plaque formation, but little chunks of food caught in between teeth & rotting everyday for years eventually catches up with you.
There are very few studies that show that wiping prevents ass disease, but I'm going to keep wiping anyway.
Debbie Devronica wrote:
I can't even believe people are actually agreeing with the report. I can't go one day not having flossed and usually floss twice a day. Do you really want food sitting in your teeth? Flossing removes so much of the food. I am grossed out even thinking of not flossing.
This. I don't understand how people can skip flossing. It gets rid of so much crap in between your teeth. I don't care what the studies say about it, the act of flossing removes food particles, plaque and other stuff from in between teeth.
This is just another "10 seconds of HITT better than 10 miles of running" article.
I bet that the reporter that wrote that article greatly distorted everything so that it is sensationalist to get clicks, even if it is a lie. News writers falsify stuff like that all the time.
"Regardless, he added, Americans should still floss."
Eat corn on the cob and then come back and tell me that flossing is a waste of time.
ENJOY YOUR HEART DISEASE.
Don't fall for clickbaity sensationalist journalism. Popular journalism about science topics almost never gets the nuances right.
No valid study has ever found that flossing is a complete waste of time. No valid study has ever found that flossing has benefits. The medical benefits of flossing are thus "unproven" because the evidence from the studies that have been done is of low quality-
"Unproven" does not equal "a waste of time." It means that a controlled study that gives scientists a high degree of confidence in its outcome has not been done.
As this other story points out, the hypothetical benefits of flossing occur over a much longer period of time than any existing study. That is, the hypothesis is that flossing prevents gum inflammation, which prevents periodontitis (bone loss), which can been linked to tooth loss, systematic inflammation, and heart disease.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/03/health/flossing-teeth-cavities.html
Controlled studies that include patients flossing or not flossing over the decades that such a study would take and in which the flossing subjects floss correctly and consistently haven't been done and would be very hard to do. That leaves the flossing "unproven," not a waste of time.