To floss or not to floss

FLOSSING is not a Filipino habit.

I know a lot out there who floss. However, the toothbrush is the standard tool for oral health care in these islands. Flossing is a second.

Along with brushing the teeth and regular visits to the dentist, flossing is essential for good oral health.

Flossing takes away the plaque that has  accumulated in the area between the teeth, the very place that is unreachable to the toothbrush.

By getting rid of the plaque, flossing helps prevent tooth decay and gum disease.

This is especially true since many people, in America anyway, don’t brush enough. The American Dental Association (ADA) estimates that the average American brushes for 46 seconds when they should do so for at least two minutes, as recommended by the ADA Science Institute.

The issue with flossing comes when people don’t do it properly. It may even damage the gums when people yank down the floss forcefully.

The way to do it, according to the ADA, is to form the floss into a C-shape string and ease it between the teeth. Then slide it up and down to get rid of the material that has accumulated on the surfaces between the teeth.

Take care that the floss doesn’t touch and irritate the gums.

There is a flip side to the flossing coin, however. Some dentists believe that flossing may not be necessary, time.com reports.

“In the hands of a regular user” there’s not much evidence that regular flossing does any good, Dr. G.A. van der Weijden, a professor of Periodontics at the University of Amsterdam, tells time.com.

Dr. Weijden is the co-author of a 2008 review of current research on flossing.

According to time.com, the review concluded that the standard advice to floss in order to prevent cavities and gum disease “is not supported by scientific evidence.”

Another review conducted in 2011 concluded that flossing may modestly reduce the risk of gingivitis, or inflammation of the gums. However, flossing will not rid the teeth of plaque, the culprit behind cavities.

“The benefit from flossing is minimal and research shows it does not have a major impact on tooth cleaning,” Dr. Damien Walmsley, a Professor of Dentistry at the University of Birmingham (United Kingdom), tells time.com.

If you are already brushing your teeth properly, flossing is a “non-essential extra,’’ says Dr. Walmsley who is also a scientific advisor to the British Dental Association.

Flossing is recommended when the gaps between teeth is big. You will know this if small chunks of food come off when flossing. That means that the remnants have lodged in between your teeth.

At the end of the day, Filipinos may not be faulted when they don’t floss that much.

We believe that proper brushing, at least twice a day, and ideally after meals, should be adequate to ensure good oral health.

That is, when brushing goes with regular dental checkups. Now that the pandemic has constrained regular visits to the dental clinic, the more reason that we should brush our teeth regularly and properly.

Prevention is the best remedy.

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Dr. Joseph D. Lim is the former Associate Dean of the UE College of Dentistry, former Dean of the College of Dentistry, National University, past president and honorary fellow of the Asian Oral Implant Academy, and honorary fellow of the Japan College of Oral Implantologists. Honorary Life Member of Thai Association of Dental Implantology. For questions on dental health, e-mail jdlim2008@gmail.com or text 0917-8591515./PN