According to the new study released by US Department of
Health, flossing has turned out to be pointless. Now, this headline has given
joy to a lot of people. According to a statistic, 15% of American adults would
like to clean their toilets rather than flossing.
Based on this conclusion, department of Health and Human
Services and Agriculture have removed the recommendation of flossing from their
recent publication of Dietary
Guidelines for Americans.
But don’t be quick to
quit it
American Academy of Dentists and the American Academy of
Periodontology are recommending general public not to consider this news
seriously.
The matter of fact is that the insight of the effectiveness
of flossing on dental health is quite limited. One limitation in this regard is
that this wasn’t a long-term study. Another limitation of this report is
concerned with the test being run on fewer people.
Another thing to be taken into consideration is that most of
the people do not know how to floss. They floss on daily basis but as nothing
more than just a ritual which becomes habit. Now, it can undoubtedly be said
about flossing that it’s effective only when you do it properly.
“The bottom line for dentists and patients is that a lack
of strong evidence doesn’t equate to a lack of effectiveness.”
– American Dental Association
– American Dental Association
What it means is
that the study we are talking about cannot be shown as a credible proof to
declare flossing as effective or ineffective. But the matter of fact is that
majority of previous studies have proven the effectiveness and importance of
flossing on the daily basis. Hence, it is important for the people to consider
those studies rather than going with the recent results which are yet to give
solid reason for ineffectiveness of flossing.
Another reason that
you shouldn’t consider the recent study as conclusive is that flossing
recommendation is removed from the Dietary Guidelines which are related to the
diet. And these guidelines are not yet endorsed by the other departments which
cover oral and dental health of public.
When we talk about
flossing itself, it is the process which has been proven effective in
maintaining dental and oral health. You cannot get rid of the bacteria and
plaque from interdental areas and from the rare side of the teeth with the help
of brushing only. You need to floss if you want to clean those hidden areas.
In the end, it all
comes down the technique of flossing you follow. If you are struggling with the
flossing, you need to floss in a different way. Discuss it with your dentist in
order to figure out the right way.
