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My mother-in-law is a dentist. When she heard I always brush my teeth but rarely floss, she told me flossing is more important than brushing your teeth. For onc
by wvh 10y ago
My mother-in-law is a dentist. When she heard I always brush my teeth but rarely floss, she told me flossing is more important than brushing your teeth. For once I didn't get into the science of things, but still I accept that getting old bits of food and other junk away from between my teeth can only be a positive thing.
It runs counter to my sceptic nature, I like to question everything, but I'm slowly starting to learn that sometimes you just have to take an expert's advice.
I'm sure any half-way decent dentist can see pretty quickly how well you take care of your teeth, in the same way a seasoned programmer can often point out a beginner's bad code or a civil engineer warn about the wrong way to build a bridge or a house on a swamp.
- gjem97 10y agoFlossing can have benefits. That still doesn't mean that we should be ok with medical professionals making specific claims like, "flossing reduces the risk of tooth decay," that have no good science behind them.
- HemanHeartYou 10y agoI get what you're saying, but using the flossing flavor of the month argument to prove that point is pretty weak.
- chengiz 10y agoWhen I feel food stuck in the teeth I'll floss. Rarely have I flossed out anything that I didnt feel - usually the tiny bits are taken out by a strong rinsing. I just dont see the point of taking more minutes out of my day for little reason. (I have never had issues with plaque so ymmv).
- skolos 10y agoMy father in law is a dentist in Germany and he never recommended flossing. In fact flossing is not common in Germany and we don't hear that Germans have very bad teeth compared to Americans. So although dentists could notice if you have good dental hygiene I'm not sure they can spot easily if you floss or not. It might just mean that in US good dental hygiene means that you floss, but converse might not be true.
- daveguy 10y ago> My father in law is a dentist in Germany and he never recommended flossing. In fact flossing is not common in Germany and we don't hear that Germans have very bad teeth compared to Americans. It's all the sauerkraut. It acts as a natural floss.
- dalai 10y agoAll the dentists I've tried so far in Germany have recommended flossing. The last one actually showed me how to do it properly and gave me a free sample to use until I bought my own. Perhaps things are changing here too?