The Debate About Dental Floss
Do recent reports mean that you should no longer floss your teeth?
Some of you may have read reports in newspapers recently, stating that there is no evidence that flossing works. This will probably come as good news to the 80% or so who don’t do it, but it is a serious concern to dentists that some of the remaining 20% may stop flossing altogether because of the reports.
We will come back to the reports shortly, but, at this point, we want to make it clear that interdental cleaning is very important for good oral health. It is in these very areas that both decay and gum disease often start, and failing to clean here almost certainly means more problems for the patient.
Brushing
Whilst brushing your teeth at least twice a day is good and necessary, the fact is that a regular or electric toothbrush simply can’t get into all of the tiny spaces between the teeth. This means that some form of cleaning in these areas is required in addition to brushing. At Mike Allen’s Dental Practice in Burton, we sell interdental brushes which are specially designed to reach in the gaps between the teeth. The reports actually indicate that this may be a more efficient method than flossing and we are more than happy for people to change from flossing to these brushes if they feel that they wish too.
Another alternative is the ‘water pik’ which blasts fine jets of water between the teeth. This can be very messy though and, in our opinion, may not be as effective as interdental brushes or flossing.
Flossing
So, should you stop using dental floss? As we have said previously, if anyone wishes to use interdental brushes instead, then we commend that. What we don’t wish to see is patients stopping interdental cleaning altogether. We still feel that dental floss has a role to play but the key is in using it correctly.
To this end, we recommend that when patients next visit Alison Lowe, our Burton dental hygienist, they talk to her about how to floss effectively. Providing that flossing is done well, it will certainly remove much of the debris and plaque from between the teeth, helping to protect them. Naturally, these hygiene visits may also include a scale and polish, should it be deemed necessary, as these are an important part of your overall oral health care, along with six monthly checks with your local Burton dentist.
We hope that this clarifies this issue a little and we will be pleased to discuss this with you on your next visit.