Is It Really Important To Floss Your Teeth

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

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.