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The force of flossing

Dr. Michael C Caldwell For the Poughkeepsie Journal


When I was younger, I never used floss regularly. I thought flossing was some ritual that only very obsessive people did. I thought that if my gums bled after flossing, then I should just not floss. I chose not to be properly informed or concerned about including flossing into my daily routine.


It wasn’t until I went to medical school that I began to really understand why daily flossing is a critical part of good daily hygiene. Most of us shower, brush our teeth and wear clean clothes every day. Why not floss our teeth, too? Daily flossing has many benefits and it really takes no more than a minute to do.

Flossing Will Keep you Happy

The Colgate Dental Health Resource Center noted, “It turns out that this part of your daily routine is worth every second. Since your toothbrush can’t reach everywhere in your mouth (namely between your teeth), flossing is the best way to remove any remaining food particles and plaque to prevent decay from forming on your teeth and gingivitis (inflammation of the gum tissue) between your teeth. As an added bonus, it also helps prevent bad breath, since it can keep bacteria from forming in those tough-to-reach spots.”

Flossing helps prevent other diseases: Discovery Fit & Health website has this to say: “Tooth and gum disease can have effects that go far beyond discolored teeth, discomfort or bad breath. Extensive research has shown that the bacteria that flourish in an unhealthy mouth can harm the rest of the body, leading to heart disease, diabetes and respiratory illness. This is such a significant issue that, in 2003, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began calling for public health initiatives to address oral health as a step toward addressing these potentially life-threatening systemic diseases: conditions that affect multiple organs and body systems (sources: CDC, CDA).


Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and more than 25 million Americans have diabetes, so if periodontal disease — disease of the teeth, gums and mouth — contribute to these systemic diseases, then a tool that helps improve oral health can play a major role in improving public health. Flossing only takes a few minutes every day and adds little to the cost of toothpaste, toothbrushes and mouthwash. It’s a small, simple step that can have huge implications for your long-term health (sources: CDC, American Diabetes Association.)”


I was pretty surprised to learn that about 50 percent of us actually do floss each day, 30 percent floss occasionally and 20 percent never floss. These statistics from the American Dental Association were better than I expected, and I’m not so sure that the people answering the surveys are being as honest with us as what they are actually doing. Well, if 50 percent of us say we floss every day, good for us. Let’s set an example for those non-flossers and help them to join our daily flossing club. I have found that people become converts if they can get themselves to floss for 10 straight days. Will you take my challenge? After 10 days, you will build it into your routine, your gums won’t bleed any more and chances are, you will never look back.


A lot of dentists will tell you that flossing is even more important than brushing.

“If you were stuck on a desert island and a boat could bring only one thing, you’d want it to bring floss,” says Samuel B. Low, DDS, professor of periodontology at the University of Florida College of Dentistry in Gainesville, and president of the American Academy of Periodontology. “But I’m convinced that the only time some of my patients floss is an hour before showing up in my office.”


Make sure your home is stocked with floss and leave it out right next to the toothpaste. I need your help to make your family a daily floss family. By doing so, you will not protect your family’s teeth and gums, you will also be helping reduce your loved ones’ risks of heart disease, diabetes, respiratory illness and likely other illnesses.

Who knew that daily flossing could likely help us live a longer and more healthy life overall? Let’s make a toast with our floss sticks to a very healthy new year for your teeth, your gums and, yes, your heart, too.


Dr. Michael Caldwell is a fellow in public health leadership at the Harvard School of Public Health and is the former Dutchess County Commissioner of Health. Send comments to healthchief@yahoo.com Twitter: @healthchief



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This article was originally published by the Poughkeepsie Journal on January 17, 2014. To see the original article, check it out here: https://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/2014/01/12/the-force-of-flossing/4421195/

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