-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Fed Gov. Silently Admits Role In Centuries Long Multi-Billion Dollar Floss Conspiracy
- Thread starter benjipwns
- Start date
- Status
again, just because "it is concluded that a routine instruction to use floss is not supported by scientific evidence." does not mean it is not true. the logic behind flossing, with what we currently know, is sound
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
I'd really like to read from a large scale study, because the effects of flossing is really common sense.
IISANDERII
Member
Bingo.
When I go to the dentist and she asks "Do you floss?" I'm thinking "Shouldn't you be able to tell?"
The effects probably depend on your brushing habits. If you brush correctly and regularly then flossing probably doesn't do anything cause there's nothing really left to do. But if you don't brush your gums then flossing probably has some added benefit.
Yeah, I'll take this real world experience.
My teeth feel much better when I floss. My gums are less sensitive and some of the stuff that gets pulled out smells disgusting.
I could care less if it doesn't do anything for my "teeth" because I know it promotes a healthier mouth.
MidgarBlowedUp
Member
I don't floss but use lots of mouthwash and brush with extra care about 3 weeks before I visit the dentist. Every time, they tell me how great my gums and teeth look thanks to flossing.
So funny.
So funny.
Rinsing/ mouth wash.
I mean yeah. There is stuff stuck between my teeth. I'd rather get that out.
PeakPointMatrix
Member
I floss
..sometimes...
But my waterpik gets wayy more stuff out. Yet all my Dentists have always told me that nothing beats actual flossing.
Time to sue.
..sometimes...
But my waterpik gets wayy more stuff out. Yet all my Dentists have always told me that nothing beats actual flossing.
Time to sue.
efyu_lemonardo
May I have a cookie?
Correctly and regularly brushing my gums along with mouthwash (or just saltwater) has put an end to bleeding for me.
Onlinehero
Member
Never floss -> floss once -> smell floss -> be horrified -> floss daily -> smell floss -> be proud -> forget flossing -> floss once -> smell floss -> be horrified... etc.
entremet
Member
kavanf1
Member
There are obvious issues that arise from inappropriate use of q-tips. That's not the case with flossing. Scientific research (or rather, a lack of it) may indicate that flossing does not significantly reduce plaque or gingivitis. However, anyone who's flossed will know that it absolutely helps with breath freshness (or lack thereof). I haven't seen any studies confirming this, but I know it to be the case.
A lack of evidence confirming something's effectiveness cannot be used as a validation that the something is not effective. It just means more research is required.
The Last Wizard
Member
Y'all waterpik users know it doesn't work for the gum line right?
Rollo Tomasi
Member
I will stay flossing. Can't stand food getting stuck in between my teeth, especially going to sleep knowing its there.
The conspiracy continues!
I won't speak to this study, but my periodontist says flossing is critical and she seems to know when I haven't been doing it (and when I have).
Regardless, even if flossing is useless, the one thing I advise everyone to do is FOR GOD'S SAKE, go to the dentist at least twice a year. You might e able to get away with the occasional instance of bleeding gums, but if you let that shit go on for too long, guess what? That condition becomes PERMANENT. You definitely do not want that.
This.
Of course, when I didn't floss, I also tended to not brush either, so...
There is actually an attachment that comes with it (maybe not all models) that is specifically designed for subgingival cleaning.
Source: me.
Regardless, even if flossing is useless, the one thing I advise everyone to do is FOR GOD'S SAKE, go to the dentist at least twice a year. You might e able to get away with the occasional instance of bleeding gums, but if you let that shit go on for too long, guess what? That condition becomes PERMANENT. You definitely do not want that.
This.
Of course, when I didn't floss, I also tended to not brush either, so...
There is actually an attachment that comes with it (maybe not all models) that is specifically designed for subgingival cleaning.
Source: me.
BladeoftheImmortal
Member
I don't floss unless I have something stuck in my teeth. The best way of brushing I found is by just brushing your gums as well as your teeth and tongue.
Do your gums bleed? And if they bleed, do they do so often? If that's the case, then you're most likely in for some very unpleasant news if you haven't been to the dentist in a decade.
If your gums don't bleed at all, then the worst I'd expect is that you'd have some cavities.
Either way, GO TO THE DAMN DENTIST!
I have a dedicated toothbrush for my tongue. I brush my teeth with my sonicare.
You should scrape your tongue some time. It's pretty crazy what stuff will come off of it, even if you brush it.
Heh. I'm shocked at the number of people in here who seem to smell their floss after they use it.
They did a bit on this on NPR today. They had some famous dentist who literally was like "Well, it would be impossible to study, because we'd have to ask people not to floss, which would be unethical." As if there aren't already millions of people out there not flossing. And ignoring the fact that people have actually studied it. I felt bad for science listening to him.
They did a bit on this on NPR today. They had some famous dentist who literally was like "Well, it would be impossible to study, because we'd have to ask people not to floss, which would be unethical." As if there aren't already millions of people out there not flossing. And ignoring the fact that people have actually studied it. I felt bad for science listening to him.
We don't all have the same teeth. I have two small gaps in my back teeth where food can get in but not actually be exposed enough for the toothbrush to do anything about. For me, floss (or a similar tooth picking device) is necessary.
IISANDERII
Member
100%. My dentist flossed my teeth once and afterwards food would become lodged between my teeth. It took a long while for the gaps to close up again. Awful experience.
I seriously wonder why I even floss sometimes. I'm a very good brusher, and my teeth are very tightly packed. I've never had any 'gunk' on my floss after flossing like some people say they get, even if I haven't flossed in several days. I still do it anyway because it's cheap, takes a minute a day and I don't want to take any chances. I'd like to some some definitive proof that it actually benefits me, though.
Justzisguyukno
Member
Just bought one of these off Amazon last week. Crazy how well it works so far. Night and day verses brushing with a regular tooth brush.
Also I was wondering why my dentist didn't really say anything about needing the floss the last time I was there....
Infinite Xero
Member
My gums only bleed if I'm cut or something. They don't bleed on their own, didn't know that was a thing.
I'm 99% sure I don't have any cavities. I don't see any, others don't see any, my teeth don't have any holes in them, and I haven't had an "unknown" toothache since my wisdom teeth came in.
I'd say the only thing "wrong" with my teeth are them not being perfectly white and I could use braces. Pretty minor all thing considered imo.
this is one of those things that's so easy and cheap to do, that i'd rather do it just in case, because why the fuck not. you know, kinda like how we handle the changes in the environment. oh wait
it kind of makes sense that getting garbage out of your mouth would help, in either case
it kind of makes sense that getting garbage out of your mouth would help, in either case
GifGafIsTheBestGaf
Member
but waterpik been superior is still true right? or is that another BS
faceless007
Member
what do you think the gaps closed up with
Morrigan Stark
Arrogant Smirk
Anecdotes are not data. If they were, my personal anecdote would then mean that rarely brushing and almost never flossing for the first 16 years of your life + eating sugars = 0 cavities.
I'm not nearly stupid enough to think that my personal experience applies to everyone else. Why can't you people realize the same?
Thank you. Yes, the variety between individuals is great indeed.°°ToMmY°°;212349200 said:I am a dentist and I rarely floss
It all depends on your teeth alignment and the spacing between your teeth and how gum fills those spaces.
Holy run-on sentence Batman. xD I think I got what you said but that was hard to read...
I have to do it with how my teeth and gums sit and are spaced. Brushing and mouthwash don't do a very good job of getting in between my teeth and along my gumline. Floss is cheap and it tackles both shortcomings really effectively, along with fishing out food particles that get snagged on specific problem teeth.
Even assuming all of the above didn't apply to me, it's worth it for fewer weird flavors in the mouth and bad breath.
Even assuming all of the above didn't apply to me, it's worth it for fewer weird flavors in the mouth and bad breath.
When I started flossing, my dentist noticed. He brought it up before I even could. The way I see it, the only way he could notice this is by looking at how small the amount of rotting food (!!!) was between my teeth. That right there is all the reason I need. Feels cleaner, smells cleaner, and, according to my dentist, looks cleaner. Maybe some of you don't get as much food between your teeth as I do, or you can get it all out with a brush and mouth wash, but my ass is flossing, business as usual.
The fact that the health benefits are unproven is not nearly enough reason for me to stop flossing.
Also, with regards to the studies: absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
Edit: also, while we're on the subject, get a tongue scraper. Thank me later.
The fact that the health benefits are unproven is not nearly enough reason for me to stop flossing.
Also, with regards to the studies: absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
Edit: also, while we're on the subject, get a tongue scraper. Thank me later.
ElectricKaibutsu
Member
Me too.
SatelliteOfLove
Member
All those investments in Montana...ruined...
Gums bleeding on their own is absolutely a thing. But that's usually when they're in a fairly advanced stage. If your gums ain't bleeding then you should be good.
I don't have much experience with cavities aside from one time when I was around 10 or so. Wound up having 8 of them, and this happened without any pain whatsoever on my part. Just cause you don't have any pain or discomfort doesn't necessarily mean you won't have cavities.
kavanf1
Member
Seconded, they are amazing.
- Status
Similar threads
- Locked