I read a scandalous article the other day, buried inside one of the newspapers I read.
It sort of rocked my world.
A recent study shows that flossing might not be all that great. I am an obsessive flosser and have been for years. I buy it by the case. I have dental floss in my purse at all times, in my car, the bathroom cabinet and my desk drawer at work. My husband gets annoyed because he often finds strands of dental floss in the cup holders and floorboards of my car.
A relative once chastised me years ago after I pulled my dental floss out at a rib joint and used it at the table. And I gave my father-in-law a long string of it, too. (Well, we were hidden in a back room.)
When people need dental floss, I’m the one they ask.
I stand in front of the dental-floss aisle at the store forever and weigh the options — waxed, not waxed, flavored, cheap, expensive — and I even tried the little floss holders for a while and decided they weren’t worth it.
I’m not sure where this obsession started for me. It could be a throwback to the days as a teenager when I had braces and couldn’t use floss. I had to stop eating certain foods, like popcorn, and had to avoid cornbread for about two years, unless I wanted to suffer the gummy consequences.
Up until now, we’ve been led to believe that if we don’t floss, we will die an early death. Haven’t you seen those statements about how people who floss have fewer heart attacks? Flossing removes dreaded plaque, we’ve been told. If we don’t floss, we’ll get cavities or, heaven forbid, something horrible sounding called gingivitis.
Turns out, according to this article, it can’t be proved that flossing prevents cavities or “severe periodontal disease.” Brushing is still a big deal, of course. There’s no debate.
The article stated that “the latest dietary guidelines for Americans, issued by the Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services, quietly dropped any mention of flossing without notice.” Also, The Associated Press reported that officials had never researched the effectiveness of regular flossing.
The article went on to state that there is “mediocre evidence that flossing does reduce bloody gums and inflammation known as gingivitis.”
When I go to the dentist, I love it when my dental hygienist does some intense flossing. Then I get my little prize of a new toothbrush and dental floss.
There’s no telling how much I’ve spent on dental floss in my life. I’m not giving it up, but I will feel a little less guilty if I only do it once a day now, instead of five times.
Note to all those dentists (or the makers of dental floss) out there who are about to send me hate mail: Don’t kill the messenger.
One dentist in the article maintained that people who quit flossing are “rolling the dice.”
I’m still reeling a bit from the article. I read it out loud to my husband, and he said, “I don’t floss.”
Just when you think you know someone.
I can’t take any more surprises. The next thing you know, somebody is going to tell us the Tooth Fairy isn’t real.
Wait a minute … maybe that’s who is behind this whole thing.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.