3 ms·

Isn't the science on flossing not showing any benefit? Edit: looked it up. No solid scientific evidence flossing helps.

justinpombrio 4y ago
That's what I thought. Then I tried not flossing, and my gums got unhealthy and started bleeding a lot in like two weeks. My teeth aren't unusual; I wouldn't expect to be that much of an outlier; so not sure what was going on in those studies that I also had heard about.
AussieWog93 4y ago
Bro, you don't need a paper to demonstrate the benefit of flossing. Just get right in there at the back with some decent floss (Oral B Satin Tape is good), and taste the rotten, disgusting food you remove. That's what the people around you are smelling every day when you exhale.
- matsemann 4y ago
  Don't be an ass, don't imply my breath smells. Be better than that.
  - skyyler 4y ago
    If you don't floss, I can promise you that your breath smells. Maybe not bad, but people notice it if you're in close quarters.
    - matsemann 4y ago
      Have you done a scientific review, or just talking out of your ass?
      - skyyler 4y ago
        You need a scientific study to know that rotting food smells bad? Sure: > Our study confirmed that use of dental floss was associated with lower odds of having oral malodor after controlling for other factors. This agrees with the findings reported recently by AlSadhan [15] who demonstrated statistically significant relationship between self-reported halitosis and use of dental floss. Faveri et al.[32] evaluated the effect of interdental flossing on oral malodor and found that there was a significantly lower concentration of sulfur compounds after using dental floss. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5727733/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5727733/
        matsemann 4y ago
        > You need a scientific study to know that rotting food smells bad? Stop behaving like a jerk, please. Be better than that here on HN. That's just a straw man. If you remove all food by normal brushing (which most scientific evidence points towards), your argument doesn't even make sense. As there is no food left.
        skyyler 4y ago
        Excuse me? I'm being a jerk? I guess we can just leave it there then. Have a nice day :)
      - krageon 4y ago
        Talking out of their ass. It is a simple fact of life some folks never floss and basically don't brush while smelling equally minty to folks that floss and brush twice per day. The easiest way to figure out this is true is thinking about how few people floss (you can ask your dentist, most people don't) and how many people have bad smelling breath (easy to smell when you're in public transport).
Aaronstotle 4y ago
Only floss the teeth you want to keep
bmau5 4y ago
There is surprisingly little peer reviewed data on flossing, but we ran our own study on how flossing impacts the oral microbiome (surveying our users) and found that flossing incidence is correlated with reduced levels of gum disease, bad breath, and cavities related bacterial species: https://www.bristlehealth.com/post/bristle-research-the-effect-of-flossing-on-the-oral-microbiome https://www.bristlehealth.com/post/bristle-research-the-effe...
linsomniac 4y ago
I don't know about scientific evidence, but I do know that personally, for my teeth, when I went from infrequent flossing to frequent: My dental visit time went down, he spent less time scraping off plaque, and my gum pocket readings went down from 2-4 to 1-3. I also know that basically every day I'm pulling an amazing amount of food out from between my teeth, which if I didn't floss would sit there and build up plaque.

That's what I thought. Then I tried not flossing, and my gums got unhealthy and started bleeding a lot in like two weeks. My teeth aren't unusual; I wouldn't expect to be that much of an outlier; so not sure what was going on in those studies that I also had heard about.

AussieWog93 4y ago

Bro, you don't need a paper to demonstrate the benefit of flossing. Just get right in there at the back with some decent floss (Oral B Satin Tape is good), and taste the rotten, disgusting food you remove. That's what the people around you are smelling every day when you exhale.

matsemann 4y ago
Don't be an ass, don't imply my breath smells. Be better than that.
- skyyler 4y ago
  If you don't floss, I can promise you that your breath smells. Maybe not bad, but people notice it if you're in close quarters.
  - matsemann 4y ago
    Have you done a scientific review, or just talking out of your ass?
    - skyyler 4y ago
      You need a scientific study to know that rotting food smells bad? Sure: > Our study confirmed that use of dental floss was associated with lower odds of having oral malodor after controlling for other factors. This agrees with the findings reported recently by AlSadhan [15] who demonstrated statistically significant relationship between self-reported halitosis and use of dental floss. Faveri et al.[32] evaluated the effect of interdental flossing on oral malodor and found that there was a significantly lower concentration of sulfur compounds after using dental floss. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5727733/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5727733/
      - matsemann 4y ago
        > You need a scientific study to know that rotting food smells bad? Stop behaving like a jerk, please. Be better than that here on HN. That's just a straw man. If you remove all food by normal brushing (which most scientific evidence points towards), your argument doesn't even make sense. As there is no food left.
        skyyler 4y ago
        Excuse me? I'm being a jerk? I guess we can just leave it there then. Have a nice day :)
    - krageon 4y ago
      Talking out of their ass. It is a simple fact of life some folks never floss and basically don't brush while smelling equally minty to folks that floss and brush twice per day. The easiest way to figure out this is true is thinking about how few people floss (you can ask your dentist, most people don't) and how many people have bad smelling breath (easy to smell when you're in public transport).

Aaronstotle 4y ago

Only floss the teeth you want to keep

bmau5 4y ago

There is surprisingly little peer reviewed data on flossing, but we ran our own study on how flossing impacts the oral microbiome (surveying our users) and found that flossing incidence is correlated with reduced levels of gum disease, bad breath, and cavities related bacterial species: https://www.bristlehealth.com/post/bristle-research-the-effect-of-flossing-on-the-oral-microbiome https://www.bristlehealth.com/post/bristle-research-the-effe...

linsomniac 4y ago

I don't know about scientific evidence, but I do know that personally, for my teeth, when I went from infrequent flossing to frequent: My dental visit time went down, he spent less time scraping off plaque, and my gum pocket readings went down from 2-4 to 1-3. I also know that basically every day I'm pulling an amazing amount of food out from between my teeth, which if I didn't floss would sit there and build up plaque.