Was his handle a specific reference to dental floss?Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe
TMPHBITEU
Does "floss or die" still read this board?
Everyone recommends flossing ? but there's hardly any proof it works | US news | The Guardian
I had a bunch of dental work done this year, and according to the hygienist in charge of getting my mouth in shape for the procedure, I had a lot of mild periodontal disease, despite brushing and flossing according to the conventional instructions I had been given. I found this to be interesting.
Member
Was his handle a specific reference to dental floss?
TMPHBITEU
He is a dentist.
Member
If you are brushing 2x per day for 2 minutes using correct technique alongside flossing or interdental brushes, you really should not have periodontal disease unless you are a smoker or one of the unlucky few that just have shitty genes (which usually results in an aggressive version rather than just mild).
I'm not your dentist nor have I seen the state of your mouth to make a correct judgment but either your hygienist has no clue about the correct terminology, your dentist is trying to make a quick buck off you, you got shown incorrect instruction , or (the NDTP of dentistry) you're not doing your part in the cleaning.
Currently NHS wise they're having a huge 3-5 year study that is collecting data from up to 63 dentists and something like 1800-2000 patients are involved, the aim of the trial is to see is there benefit from scale and polish, conventional advise and timeframe for everything (iQuad trial). Flossing seems fairly straight forward in that it mechanically will remove the plaque that's present interproximally thus resulting in less inflammation haven't seen the literature regarding this however I find a news article to be hardly a strong evidence for me to base any practices on especially since they're not even referencing said reviews.
Member
i domt know about plague. but i have had pieces of meat stuck between my teeth for a day or so before. to the point of gum inflamation and thrubing. flossing got the piece of meat out and caused relief. the piece of meat also smelled foul as hell.
anecdotally, the tooth where meat was getting stuck, i eventually needed a root canal. i think it was bc i was lazy with flossing. not doing it untill it hurts.
i also domt trust dentists, they needd more business than your twice a year cleanings.
Member
TMPHBITEU
I didn't use an interdental brush. Maybe the office was running a hygiene scam. Dunno. In your opinion, what is the state of the published evidence regarding flossing?
Member
So having looked at Cochrane reviews and current guidelines, it seems as though there is some evidence from 12 studies that flossing helps in reducing gingivitis (bleeding gums) however at the same time it seems to have weak and unreliable evidence with regards to reducing decay and plaque deposits in 1-3 months (based on the studies present). Here is the cochrane review if you are bored enough to read, just so you wouldn't think i'm pulling this out of my ass. Flossing to reduce gum disease and tooth decay | Cochrane
Member
Dr Ellie Phillips has long been critical of the flossing dogma (and the dental industry in general). She's a bit dogmatic in her own way, but I've learned some important things from her approach.
I have fairly crowded teeth, and find flossing helps remove tiny food particles that would otherwise stay in my teeth and stink up the area.
TMPHBITEU
I am using a WaterPik WaterFlosser now. Opinions?
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