Quote:
Originally Posted by Eleazar
Dear Mr. O.city, I read on a website that there is some thought that flossing may not be as beneficial as people think. Your thoughts?
Is the correlation between flossing and good dental health a direct one, or because daily flossers are more likely to take better care of their teeth in general?
I'll listen off the air. |
Eh, it's more about removing interproximal (between teeth) buildup and impacted debris (food) than anything. I haven't read on it recently, there was some stuff about it a few years ago (maybe what you're referencing) but I won't comment on it either way.
Brushing is the gold standard, but what I would say is the majority of decay occurs between teeth directly below the contact point where they meet. That can't be cleaned with a brush.
LIke you've said, most people that floss regularly are pretty habitual with their oral hygiene so that may correlate. Like most things in life, it's not one thing or another.
Diet, hygiene, type of bacteria intraorally etc is different for everyone. Some patients have a lot of trouble with periodontal disease but no issues with decay, some have decay but fine gum tissue, some both.