You Should Know

Well, sorry to be the person you're dreading, but I'm going to jump in with some "pro-flossing bias" since the bias is for a good reason. This Buzzfeed article bases their argument on one AP study. If you try to click the link to the AP study in the article you linked, you'll see it has been taken down, since AP themselves have renounced it and stated that "all the studies were over too short of a time and have not enough participants."

Here's a NYT article that explains how this misinformation is based on a lot of flawed research. From the article:

In the case of flossing’s benefits, the supposedly weak evidence cited by The Associated Press was the absence of support in the form of definitive randomized controlled trials, the so-called gold standard for scientific research. Why was there so little of this support? Because the kind of long-term randomized controlled trial needed to properly evaluate flossing is hardly, if ever, conducted — because such studies are hard to implement. For one thing, it’s unlikely that an Institutional Review Board would approve as ethical a trial in which, for example, people don’t floss for three years. It’s considered unethical to run randomized controlled trials without genuine uncertainty among experts regarding what works.

I also found this counter argument that states that the poorly done study also only tracked caries (cavities) and didn't take into consideration other things, such as gum inflammation. Here's yet another counter argument with this quote:

“Every dentist in the country can look in someone’s mouth and tell whether or not they floss,” says Dr. Tim Iafolla, a dental health expert at NIH.

Don't your gums bleed? Isn't your breath bad? It's pretty clear that if you floss regularly, your gums are less inflamed. I know flossing isn't fun, but there's rotting food between your teeth, it smells bad and it's doing damage. It's pretty clear that your gums stop bleeding and your breath improves if you floss regularly.

Even Buzzfeed (which isn't really a good place to get health advice btw) has articles contradicting the post you linked. It's just clickbait. Please floss your teeth.

I read that as "there isn't good quality evidence" not as "flossing doesn't work".

If you have plaque on your teeth that doesn't get removed it turns into tartar/calculus. If it's between your teeth, over time that can lead to retreating gum and exposed dental necks. It's of course also something promoting tooth decay.

Removing this plaque with a tooth brush can be difficult to impossible depending on how your teeth are laid out. Floss can be helpful to remove it.

Are you saying this isn't true?

The article states there's no research for it. Doesn't mean it doesn't work. But of course it also doesn't mean it actually works. Everyone may do with that what they will. But it's hard to argue the logic that flossing helps. You can leave bits of food in your gums for bacteria to eat and produce byproducts that degrade your enamel. Or you can remove that food.

But the fact is that there isn't much research is indeed a valid concern, especially when the health/science community tries to say something is good or bad. They need to prove it.

This does run counter to my own experience. Flossing definitely does remove old food and plaque from in between my teeth, I can see it. Are you saying removing this has no effect on dental hygiene?

In addition, I had a dentist appointment this week and they said some of my gums were slightly receding, and that if I floss there more regularly it will help the gums. I'm going to floss daily and see if there is any improvement at my next checkup in six months.

Is there a remind bot on lemmy?

Honestly man you can believe whatever you choose to. I’m not here to argue with anyone.

I’m in my 30s and went from having bad gingivitis with bleeding and pain during brushing, to having gums that are comfortable with being thoroughly physically cleaned every day and that makes me happy.

TIL there's a conspiracy about this. Fascinating.