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Ask the Dentist: New reports suggesting flossing is bad are misleading

Dentist Lucy Stock of Gentle Dental Care in Belfast says flossing does not deserve the bad press it has recently received

Dentists continue to encourage using floss because they see the damage that not cleaning teeth properly can do
Dentists continue to encourage using floss because they see the damage that not cleaning teeth properly can do Dentists continue to encourage using floss because they see the damage that not cleaning teeth properly can do

RECENT news reports question whether existing scientific research supports oral health benefits associated with flossing. The bottom line for patients is that a lack of strong evidence doesn’t equate to a lack of effectiveness. The crux of the matter is that more sophisticated trials are needed.

There’s a reason that dentists continue to recommend flossing. When you are working at the coalface you see first hand what happens in the mouth and its this anecdotal evidence that backs up why dentists encourage using floss.

I have read in a few news articles the following claims:

Claim no 1: “If done improperly, flossing can cause damage to gums, teeth, and dental work.”

Over my 19 years working I have not seen a plethora of cuts in the gum from flossing – sorry guys; this is erroneous. An extremely rare event is that floss can catch around a restoration which may lead to bone loss. To put this in perspective I have seen this on three occasions.

I do, almost daily, see and treat people who have varying degrees of gum disease. The vast majority present with unclean teeth. After treatment when the teeth have been professionally cleaned and you show someone how to clean in between their teeth effectively, the gum disease stabilises.

Gums turn from purple and bleeding to pink and not bleeding. Loose teeth tighten and bone levels stabilise as seen on X-rays.

Claim no 2: “Sometimes, flossing can also cause harmful bacteria to be released into your bloodstream which could lead to an infection.”

This occurs when gum disease is out of control. No matter if you floss or not, if your gums are inflamed then bacteria will be released into the bloodstream. Its not the floss causing it, it's the underlying gum disease. Treat the gum disease and in effect you turn off the inflammatory reaction. So initially inflamed gums will bleed when flossing and then after a couple of weeks the bleeding stops as the gums heal.

While tooth-brushing is great, the bristles physically can not get between teeth. If food is left stagnating between teeth then patients suffer more from decay and gum disease.

Floss in general is fiddly for patients to use and often small interdental bottle brushes or wood sticks are easier for people to manage, which may also be why floss does not perform as well in studies.

My strong advice is keep flossing, bottle brushing or wood sticking for your mouth and overall general health.