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Federal health expert drop flossing from health guidelines

arstechnica.com

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Re: Federal health expert drop flossing from health guidelines

#31

Post by mrweasel »

adrianN wrote: post #2

I wonder why they don't fund proper studies. Maybe because the effect is too obvious to question? My oral hygienist can tell whether I floss regularly or not, so there must be an observable difference in plaque buildup. Subjectively my gums also feel better and bleed less when I floss regularly.

For years my oral hygienist kept telling me to a get an electric toothbrush. When I finally got one, I didn't tell her, but I never hear the "get an electric tooth brush" again.

It was the same with flossing. When I started flossing I didn't say anything, and she hasn't commented that I need to floss since.

Re: Federal health expert drop flossing from health guidelines

#33

Post by dbg067 »

I'm sure a lot of individual observations come down to genetics. In my own case, I challenged myself to go from flossing once a week to every day over the past six months. Just recently went to the dentist and my gum pocket depths all decreased (signaling healthier gums apparently). Diet remained exactly the same.

Re: Federal health expert drop flossing from health guidelines

#34

Post by TorKlingberg »

flukus wrote: post #14
fredsted wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use one of these: http://imgur.com/8A3dopG For some teeth, I have to force it a little, my teeth are pretty close too. Its so worth it though: much better breath, clean feel, minimized risk of cavities.

I've tried them, but they refuse to go in too.

I use these. I can bit down on it if I need extra force. http://www.apteekkituotteet.fi/WebRoot/Euran/Shops/Eura/506D...

Of course people's teeth are different. I know some prefer these, where you push it in from the side. http://www.tepe.com/uk/products/interdental-brushes/

Re: Federal health expert drop flossing from health guidelines

#35

Post by MarcusP »

imron wrote: post #19
flukus wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never flossed, I don't have gaps in my teeth to get the floss in. My first trip to the dentist in 25 years was a few weeks ago and my teeth were perfect except for a wisdom tooth and the damage it caused. So i'm kind of skeptical of the effect. Edit - I always wonder what kind of toothbrush other people use. I've always used electric ones so I wonder if that helps.

You might find that if you go to the dentist for teeth cleaning and they clear away all the plaque buildup that you'll be able to get the floss in between your teeth. Like you, I have good teeth (never had a filling) and on average have visited the dentist about once every 10 years. Like you I also used to never be able to get floss in between my teeth, but after a dental checkup some years back the dentist cleared a…

I had the issue that I couldn't floss due to lack of gaps too, I even have a wire behind my bottom teeth keeping them together after having braces when I was younger. This meant I had to visit the dentist if I wanted to clean between my teeth and even after that, normal floss just didn't fit.

But now I have discovered floss tape; it's just what it sounds like, a thin strip of tape that you can slide between your teeth to floss. Now I can actually floss and it makes a big difference to how clean my teeth look and feel. I'm in the UK and the product I use is Oral-B Satin Tape - worth trying or finding an equivalent if you have teeth very close together.

Re: Federal health expert drop flossing from health guidelines

#36

Post by Booktrope »

Clickbait based on a 5-year old source which actually says, "Twelve trials were included in this review which reported data on two outcomes (dental plaque and gum disease). Trials were of poor quality and conclusions must be viewed as unreliable. The review showed that people who brush and floss regularly have less gum bleeding compared to toothbrushing alone. There was weak, very unreliable evidence of a possible small reduction in plaque. There was no information on other measurements such as tooth decay because the trials were not long enough and detecting early stage decay between teeth is difficult."

So studies showed flossing helps prevent gum bleeding. This is not what the article reports.

Are there studies of effectiveness of tooth brushing? Imagine the control group - people who don't brush their teeth at all!

Re: Federal health expert drop flossing from health guidelines

#37

Post by pw »

adrianN wrote: post #2

I wonder why they don't fund proper studies. Maybe because the effect is too obvious to question? My oral hygienist can tell whether I floss regularly or not, so there must be an observable difference in plaque buildup. Subjectively my gums also feel better and bleed less when I floss regularly.

I wondered that too. But I also worry whether the immediate-term indices of dental health that hygienists are taught to look for correspond to long-term dental health endpoints.

Re: Federal health expert drop flossing from health guidelines

#38

Post by INTPenis »

adrianN wrote: post #2

I wonder why they don't fund proper studies. Maybe because the effect is too obvious to question? My oral hygienist can tell whether I floss regularly or not, so there must be an observable difference in plaque buildup. Subjectively my gums also feel better and bleed less when I floss regularly.

The effect is very obvious. I'm not ashasmed to say that since the age of 18 - your last year of free dental care in Sweden - to the age of 31, I didn't go to the dentist at all.

I brushed mostly regularly the second half of this period, I never flossed. I'm a computer geek, I can get caught up in code for days without brushing my teeth but try to do it regularly.

The result was 13 years of plaque and two visits to a dentist to clean it all out.

Dental plaque is a coating over your tooth and your gums will grow over this coating. So I think it's pretty obvious that dental plaque can cause cavities between your gums and your teeth, infections in your gums and all this will in turn lead to periodontitis.

And also you have saliva glands at the bottom of your mouth that bring with them additional minerals and stuff that get stuck to your teeth, forming plaque. So the front bottom teeth are even more important to floss.

Now I floss regularly and I'm proud to have actually made it one of my daily habits.

Re: Federal health expert drop flossing from health guidelines

#39

Post by nailer »

Booktrope wrote: post #36

Clickbait based on a 5-year old source which actually says, "Twelve trials were included in this review which reported data on two outcomes (dental plaque and gum disease). Trials were of poor quality and conclusions must be viewed as unreliable. The review showed that people who brush and floss regularly have less gum bleeding compared to toothbrushing alone. There was weak, very unreliable evidence of a possible sm…

Brushing teeth isn't the only way of cleaning them. A lot of people use sticks or other means that are harder and more effective at cleaning teeth.

Re: Federal health expert drop flossing from health guidelines

#40

Post by nailer »

return0 wrote: post #20

Toothpicks work just as well for me.

+1 but also a modern twist: intradental brushes. They're a piece of wire with a handle, coated with bits to pull plaque off teeth.

You use them exactly like a toothpick but they have a nice big grip and you can get 90 degree versions with long handles for your back teeth.

A pack will easily last a year.

Cannot be bothered flossing (and I salivate a lot which makes it harder) but intradental brushes are now part of my daily routine.

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