Is Flossing A Waste Of Time? Experts Say It Might Be
A debate about the effectiveness of flossing has erupted this week, with one leading academic saying there is only “weak” evidence to say that it helps keep teeth and gums healthy.
The hoo-hah began when the Associated Press asked the US Departments of Agriculture, Health and Human Services to share their evidence that flossing works.
Not only did they fail to do any research of their own, the government departments also quietly deleted a recommendation that Americans floss from their official guidelines.
The move has prompted the NHS to reconsider its guidelines on dental health too.
It turns out that there’s not really a great deal of concrete evidence to back up flossing as a way to keep your teeth and gums disease-free.
A leading British dentist and advisor to the British Dental Association, Professor Damian Walmsley, of Birmingham University, explained that accurate studies are very difficult to carry out.
“The difficulty is trying to get good evidence. People are different and large studies are costly to do … until then you can’t really say yes or no.”
Prof Walmsley advocates for “more sophisticated trials” before official guidelines can be issued.
“It’s important to tell people to do the basics. Flossing is not part of the basics,” he said.
Do you floss? Will you carry on given the lack of evidence? Let us know on Twitter @YahooStyleUK.
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