According to different studies, anywhere from 15-50% of Americans floss daily, depending on age, while the remaining 50% or so either do it occasionally or hardly ever. Most dentists will ask you as soon as you enter their office whether you've been flossing or not. However, the real question is if flossing on a daily basis actually prevents tooth decay and gum disease. There has been a long-term debate going on amongst dental professionals about the true usefulness of flossing regularly and if doing so truly helps prevent cavities, tooth decay, and other dental health problems.
Some dentists on the other hand will argue that choosing not to floss is actually not that big of a deal, because there are other alternatives to flossing that are better for keeping your teeth and gums healthy. Dr. Ellie Phillips, who is a dentist in the US, explains in the video 'To floss or not to floss' that the whole mouth is involved when it comes to different health problems around the oral region, so saying that flossing can help stop cavities/other mouth related issues can be a little far fetched. I say this because Dr. Phillips goes on to explain that "as far as [she] can see, there is absolutely no science to show that flossing can stop cavities...", however massaging the gums and good tooth brushing is something that has been done since ancient times because doing so stimulates the circulation in the gums and mouth.
From Dr. Phillips point of view, she thinks that flossing is basically a waste of time. She believes that the idea that a small length of string can remove a bacterial infection from your mouth doesn't make any sense, especially since there really is no scientific evidence to back up the claims that flossing is a vital part in keeping your mouth healthy. Dr. Phillips is obviously on the more extreme side of this whole 'to floss or not to floss' idea because she goes on to say that she personally has "never flossed a day in [her] life." For something to be so widely recommended you'd think that there would be more research done to provide us with some evidence proving that flossing does indeed break up the bits in our mouth, and in turn, preventing cavities and other harmful diseases.
In my opinion, I have to agree with what Dr. Phillips said in the video because it is hard to argue with someone when there is no concrete evidence proving him/her wrong otherwise. From personal experience, I rarely floss and have yet to encounter any lasting oral health problems. You will always be told to floss daily by your dentist and that doing so is a great way to keep your gums and mouth healthy, but as of now, we truly do not know whether flossing or not has any lasting impacts on our overall health. This is another great example of a situation where you might as well do it because 'it can't hurt'. If you haven't gotten anything from this blog post then I want you leaving knowing that flossing isn't technically 100% mandatory (for many people choose to avoid doing so and remain perfectly healthy), but if you do choose to floss daily then your chances of staying healthy definitely have a chance of increasing.
http://bbc.in/W9rmj6
No comments:
Post a Comment