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Dental Floss May Have No Medical Benefits, Says AP Report (gizmodo.com)
Joe_NoOne quotes a report from Gizmodo: Flossing may not yield the protective benefits we've been told to expect. Since 1979, the federal government in the U.S. has recommended daily flossing, but by law these dietary guidelines, which are updated every five years, have to be supported by scientific evidence. Surprisingly -- and without any notice -- the federal government dropped flossing from its dietary guidelines this year, telling the Associated Press that "the government acknowledged the effectiveness of flossing had never been researched, as required." AP national writer Jeff Donn reports: "The two leading professional groups -- the American Dental Association and the American Academy of Periodontology, for specialists in gum disease and implants -- cited other studies as proof of their claims that flossing prevents buildup of gunk known as plaque, early gum inflammation called gingivitis, and tooth decay. However, most of these studies used outdated methods or tested few people. Some lasted only two weeks, far too brief for a cavity or dental disease to develop. One tested 25 people after only a single use of floss. Such research, like the reviewed studies, focused on warning signs like bleeding and inflammation, barely dealing with gum disease or cavities. Wayne Aldredge, president of the periodontists' group, acknowledged the weak scientific evidence and the brief duration of many studies...Still, he urges his patients to floss to help avoid gum disease. 'It's like building a house and not painting two sides of it,' he said. 'Ultimately those two sides are going to rot away quicker.'"
Pretty much this, though I now floss every day. (And I live somewhere where it's not usual.)
In fact, I'd recommend flossing only over brushing only.
I've had a lot of gum and tooth issues at once, and it always was between the teeth. Turns out, the gaps between my teeth got bigger and I had a lot of shit getting stuck there. Now that Ifloss, I haven't had any new issues, but there's some permanent damage.
Anyway, when I remove something that was stuck between my teeth I instantly feel much better.
This isn't necessarily true. I had a similar conversation with my dentist. He had one client who was a religious floss we and brusher, they have terrible teeth. Multiple root canals, at least 12 fillings. Then there's me. I rarely floss unless I can tell something is stuck, then I do to get it out. The strength of your teeth is mainly genetic and environment. Sadly my son has his mother's teeth and already has problems.
I don't care if there is no evidence of medical benefit, or correlation with cavities/gum disease - those things are intangible. Flossing teeth after just 2-3 days of NOT flossing produces so much gross tangible stuff from between the teeth I still feel a lot better after doing it, no matter what.
I'm going to guess there is no evidence of medical benefit to applying deodorant every day, but FFS please do.
while [ 1 ]; do echo -n -e "\xe2\x95\xb$((($RANDOM&1)+1))"; done
Whether or not one gets cavities depends heavily upon diet. Cavities are caused by excess carbohydrates, starches and other simple sugars left behind in the mouth after meals. Normally, the populations of bacteria in the mouth are not concentrated enough in any one spot for a long enough period of time to produce enough acid on a regular basis to cause decay of tooth enamel. However, consumption of carbohydrates and the formation of sticky plaques on the teeth provides the perfect growth medium for these bacteria, promoting a population explosion and the associated waste products (acids) that cause tooth decay and eventually cavities. With a diet rich in high fructose corn syrup and massive quantities of carbs and simple sugars, most Americans are at high risk of developing cavities and have mouths full of them. In my experience, it would be very unusual for a 40 year old, even one who brushes regularly but never flosses, to have never had cavities. You might want to go for a second opinion and independent x-rays, just to be sure. Otherwise your first indication that you do have cavities might be moderate to severe pain and by that point you may need a root canal to save the tooth. Most dental insurance covers x-rays and even if you don't have dental insurance it's worth a few hundred bucks every few years to have them done, just to be sure.
Health wise we do better, but until fairly recently people tend not to worry too much about the cosmetic aspect so their teeth look bad.
I had a brace for some fairly serious overcrowding when I was a child, but once the problem was fixed they lost interest in neatening everything up. I'm kinda tempted to pay to get them fixed now that those invisible braces are available. It's not so much the looks as the getting food suck in them all the bloody time.
Also, I wish my wisdom teeth would stop trying to kill me. Intelligent design my arse.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
...and every six months when I go the dentist for a checkup and cleaning, they tell me "whatever you're doing, keep it up!". So I keep not flossing...
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