Calling Dental Floss Into Question

The recent media uproar debating the value of flossing has made for some great discussions in dental offices across the country. There are articles and news segments which argue that flossing isn’t really necessary, and dentists in Scottsbluff are using this publicity as a great platform to talk about oral health with their patients. Is flossing really necessary? If you want to control bad breath, fight cavities, and prevent gum disease, then most dental professionals would say ‘Yes” and here’s why:

Personal hygiene. If you have ever flossed and then noticed the strong smell of the plaque that is pulled from between the teeth, then you can understand how flossing helps to improve your personal hygiene. It helps to control bad breath by getting rid of smelly plaque. If you have never flossed, try this experiment: Floss between a few of your teeth and then smell the floss. You’ll be shocked by the smell, even after you have brushed. This smell represents the smell that your friends and business colleagues may notice when you are in close contact.

Inflammation and infection control. Bleeding during flossing is a sign of inflammation and it’s a signal that your body’s inflammatory response has been activated. You will see that the bleeding decreases as you become accustomed to flossing more regularly. As we know, reducing the overall inflammation within the body also reduces our risk for heart disease, strokes, and some immune deficiencies. Flossing stimulates the gum tissue between the teeth to reduce inflammation and also disrupts the colonies of bacteria that live in the plaque between the teeth that would otherwise irritate the gums and trigger your natural inflammatory response.

Some experts argue that we haven’t seen enough research on the benefits of flossing to determine whether it is helpful or not. Most dentists and dental hygienists would argue that you can clearly see and feel the benefits of flossing even without conducting a sophisticated clinical study.

For more good reasons to floss, talk to a dentist in Scottsbluff today.