Should you floss your teeth? Yes!… You may have heard recent online posts or articles saying you may not need to. But, don’t give up based on those just yet.
Well, although there isn’t a large body of academic studies on flossing yet, there is enough basic science and clinical practice evidence (and common sense) behind cleaning between your teeth to prevent decay and gum disease.
It’s hard to do a long term study because you have to follow a large number of people over a long enough period of time. Then you have to ensure that the group that flosses is flossing properly & frequently enough. Also for comparisons, how could you ethically ask a control group not to floss?
Flossing basically wipes away the film of bacteria that develops during the day before you get bad bacteria causing either gum disease or dental decay. Flossing is low cost, has a low risk of causing damage and should be part of our daily hygiene routine.
For further details, here are links to two articles analysing the claims by the associated press article that caused all this fuss:
http://www.livescience.com/55737-should-you-floss-what-experts-say.html
http://www.menshealth.com/health/should-you-floss