To floss, or not to floss ?

Is that the question?

QUINTESSENCE INTERNATIONAL –  EDITORIAL

The media was exited recently to learn   that floss is apparently not effective   to keep your teeth healthy. They have read a review stating the there is a low level of evidence that tooth brushing alone is less effective then tooth brushing and flossing. From there  we were exposed to titles like“ A big problem with flossing ‘’ Feeling guilty about not flossing ?Maybe there’s no need and Tell your dentist to suck it : there’s little evidence flossing works This is an amazing example of  misuse of scientifıc reports by the media It is our job to firmly correct those mistakes and make sure that the public is well aware of the true meaning of these studies.

We should advocate and explain to our patients as well as to the media representatives that this report does not actually recommend not to clean interproximally,but it says that flossing might not be the perfect tool for it.It is well known that the two most important oral diseases-caries and periodontal disease-are caused by bacteria , so it extremely important for oral heath to remove the plaque on a regular basis. The plaque should be removed from all tooth surfaces including the interdantel space. The main problem with using floss is that it is rather difficult to floss effectively, especially if you are not well trained in doing so. This is the key reason for  the findings in the studies. If you have a tool and you are not using it properly, it does not work!

It is our responsibility either to make sure our patients are well educated and trained in flossing or to introduce them to other, easier to use, interdental cleaning aids such is interproximal brushes or dental toothpicks. It is our role to help our pears, our patients, and the media to make proper interpretations of the evidence and not to draw the opposite conclusions.If we really care about our patients and the public dental health we need to speak up and explain what the results of these studies actually mean. It does not mean at all that interdental cleaning is not important-on the contrary, it is crucial! But is should be done properly, using the right tools, Let’s go out and make sure people understand that.

Lion Levin

Scientific  Associate Editor  

“Diş ipi kullanımı ile ilgili medyadaki yanlış değerlendirmeye açıklık getiren makalenin okunması yararlı olacaktır. Ağız temizliğinde diş fırçalama olmazsa olmaz ancak ara yüz temizliği olmadan da tek başına ağız temizliği maalesef yeterli olmaz. Bu noktada diş ipi veya  ara yüz fırçası ile dişlerin ara yüzlerinin temizliği önemi tartışılamaz bir gerçektir. Diş ipi ve ara yüz  fırçasının doğru kullanılması bu etkinlikte çok büyük önem taşır. Doğru kullanılmadığında etkinliğin olmayacağı tartışılamaz. Ancak diş ipi kullanımı ağız temizliğinde önemsizdir ifadesi doğruluğu hiçbir bilimsel kanıta dayanmayan yanlış bir ifadedir.”