Tag Archive for: flossing

Flossing Follow-up

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I’ve written the memo for over 16 years and for the past 10 years, it’s been about health, but I never know what kind of response I’m going to get about what I write. Flossing and “dangerous supplement ingredients” really brought out some great questions. I’ll cover them in the next two messages.

Today, flossing. Many readers and listeners thanked me for addressing the issue and challenging the AP report. We think of teeth as being shaped like a blade, but most are closer to square at the gumline. That’s a lot of surface area . . .

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The Bottom Line on Flossing

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Let’s take a closer look at the AP article that questioned the use of flossing for dental health (1). Based on the science to date, it appears there isn’t enough research for the government to recommend that everyone floss daily. Is there no research to support flossing? More important, does flossing contribute to dental health?

A dentist wrote an opinion piece for The Huffington Post blog (2); he addressed the AP article very well by taking a second look at an article the AP used as part of their claim for a lack of support for flossing. In . . .

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The Science of Flossing

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After reading the AP article on flossing, I did what I normally do: I checked the research (1). I specifically looked for research on flossing and periodontal disease, but there wasn’t much. Then I checked the research that the AP investigative journalist used; again the research wasn’t overwhelming and most studies weren’t really positive. If you check out the AP article, the references are listed at the bottom.

The AP article interviewed several experts in the field; most agreed that research as we know it today hasn’t been done to support the use of flossing for . . .

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To Floss or Not to Floss

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There are several health truths that I hold dear. Everyone needs to exercise. We all need to eat more vegetables. We should floss our teeth every day.

Not everyone agrees. There have been books and articles written about why exercise doesn’t prevent heart disease nor help you lose weight. Some diets want you to avoid certain types of plant materials. But I thought flossing was safe from controversy.

Until now.

Writers from the Associated Press Investigative team decided to question the recommendation for flossing from the Department of Health and Human Services and the USDA Guidelines. Using the Freedom . . .

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