I love to start a blog with “in a study”, but I have never laughed when I read one. That has changed. Read on.
In a study, 36% of people said they would rather clean a toilet than floss their teeth. One of the justifications that I told myself in the morning to skip flossing was that I needed to get out the door. In my argument with myself I timed it – 60 seconds. It took one minute to floss my teeth.
A meta-analysis of 25 studies showed that flossing did not prevent cavities and the USDA has removed it from their guidelines for oral health. The American Dental Association has not.
Don’t sell your Oral-B stock yet. There may be more to flossing your teeth than cavities.
The problem with the study results is that the wrong questions were being asked.
· Instead of asking: Would you rather clean a toilet? The study should have asked: Would you rather have inflamed gums and bad bacteria in your mouth that can put you at higher risk for heart disease, stroke, and dementia? I’ll give you 60 seconds to answer.
· Instead of asking: Does flossing prevent cavities? The question should be – Does flossing improve gum health and lower any other health risks?
Asking the right questions is important. They may as well have asked “Does flossing your teeth improve gas mileage?” and when they found it doesn’t, advise to discontinue.
So, maybe it is time to rethink your routine. Take 60 seconds to floss your teeth.
How about another 2 minutes? Add a water flosser like a Waterpik. It’s great. How do I know it works? After brushing and flossing, I can see small food particles the water flosser is removing. Those small food particles turn into the above-mentioned bad bacteria.
Great info. When you get older and still have all your teeth, remember flossing is why (plus getting teeth cleaned at the dentist office). Trust me, most of your friends will have partials for all fake teeth.
That did make me smile, and it also made me rethink making time to floss, my teeth!