Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Do I really need to floss?

“Do I really need to floss?”

Unfortunately, I have heard this question more this month than I probably ever had.  I get it.  Flossing isn’t sexy.  It takes time when we can hardly find time to brush our teeth.   Sometimes it gets splatter on the mirror.

This month an article came out from the Associated Press stating the government has done little high quality research to prove flossing works.  A good scientific study is done over a long period of time, is well documented and has a control group.  Studies that lack these are considered to have lower validity. 

If we were jumping out of plane, most of us would feel a lot safer with a parachute.  We KNOW that with the parachute we will have a much greater chance of a nice landing.  If we wanted to have a scientific study that was good, we would have a control group that was jumping without a parachute to so we could compare between the outcomes of the two groups.  Ideally the people jumping out of the plane would have no idea if they have a real parachute to a placebo bag on their back.  Are you ready to partake in this study?  The government has no high quality research that a parachute works!

On big issue with the studies that are done with flossing are that most have involved patients who report back that they do floss daily.  How reliable are we when we have to self-report anything?  Do you think our children are any better at this?  I know when I was asked as a kid if I flossed I always told my mom that I had.  I probably didn’t brush all the time either.  At least not as often as I say I did.  One question I always ask younger kids is how often they brush their teeth every day.  The most common answer is “yes.”  After that I probably get the answer “100,” followed by “5.”  The real answer is almost never one of those. 

Another issue with the article is the conclusions that were drawn from some studies.  A 2006 study divided kids into three groups.  One group was professionally flossed 5 days a week by a dental professional.  One group flossed only once every three months.  The other group self-reported daily flossing.  This study lasted 18 months.  The results showed that there was no difference in the group that self-flossed and flossed only once every three months.  The group that was professionally flossed 5 days a week had a 40% decrease in the incidence of interproximal dental caries (the fancy term for “flossing cavities” or cavities between the teeth).  The point taken home from the AP study was that there was no difference between not flossing and flossing yourself.  The point I took from the study was proper flossing reduces cavities by 40% and most people do not take the time to floss properly or just say that they floss, when in fact, that may be an embellishment of the truth.

So, do you really need to floss?  Should we wear a parachute? 

It’s your call.  I do, twice daily in fact.  We tell you once daily is effective.  I have no financial interest in Proctor and Gamble.  If you buy truckloads of floss each time you visit Target, I do not get my pockets lined with green.  I tend to be busier when people do not floss.  I invite to take this challenge.  Floss every day for a week, this is even better if you do this after a cleaning.  On that seventh day, smell the floss.  Take a week off of flossing and smell the floss after that and see if you notice a difference.  I have a feeling that while not flossing keeps our schedule a little busier here, not flossing may open up your social calendar some. 

Writing an article telling people that they do not have do something that really don’t like doing is a great way to get some clicks and sell some ad space.