Daily flossing will save your teeth.
It will prevent heart problems.
It will improve your life.
The value of flossing has been considered fact – as widely accepted as the need for exercise, that sitting too close to the TV makes your eyes rectangular and that swallowing apple seeds leads to trees in your stomach.
Turns out it's not necessarily true.
A recent damning article by The Associated Press revealed that there is no scientific evidence that flossing helps prevent cavities. None. Just like there's no scientific evidence that if you are hit in the back while crossing your eyes, they'll stay that way.
The federal government has recommended flossing since 1979, which is the same time it issued the controversial warning that disco dancing could be fatal, which was subsequently disproved by Gloria Gaynor's anthem,"I Will Survive."
The floss news was shocking, particularly since it also isn't proven to reduce plaque.
Leading to the question: What could be behind this wall of lies?
Big Floss.
The worldwide amalgamation of floss producers. Seriously. Do you realize that the global market for floss will hit $2 billion per year in 2017?
That's a lot of string, some of it is waxed, most of it wasted by being wrapped around fingers. And Big Floss realizes that if the public knew that the use of it didn't make a difference, it could create a huge cavity in industry earnings.
When The AP contacted the henchmen of Big Floss – including Procter and Gamble and Johnson and Johnson – they either declined comment or acted like they had a sore tooth and couldn't talk. Neither is impressive.
According to The AP's article, Wayne Aldredge, president of the American Academy of Periodontology, acknowledged the weak scientific evidence and the brief duration of many studies. But he urged patients to floss to help avoid gum disease with a strange analogy.
"It's like building a house and not painting two sides of it," he said. "Ultimately those two sides are going to rot away quicker."
Says who? Big Paint?
Aldredge also said that the impact of floss might be clearer if researchers focused on patients at the highest risk of gum disease, such as diabetics and smokers.
That's . . . wait, what? DIABETICS ARE AT HIGHER RISK FOR GUM DISEASE?
This just turned into a full-fledged panic attack. As a diabetic since age 14, I'm . . . wait a second. Do they have any evidence that proves that? Or is Big Floss just trying to once again take advantage of diabetics?
Let's get back on point. In addition to Big Floss, I assume that dental hygienists play a role in this conspiracy.
Think about their jobs. They're paid well, but they spend the day cleaning our teeth. At the end of an hour scraping gunk off someone's teeth, I suspect you want to make a point, if only to get out your aggression.
Dental hygienists always tell us to floss more. They always act like we're slobs. (Or maybe that's just me).
Might hygienists be in cahoots with Big Floss? I fear it's possible.
Still . . .
Despite the stunning lack of evidence that flossing helps, I will likely keep flossing. And so will you.
We'll do it for the same reason we stopped eating apple seeds when we were old enough to know better.
There may be no scientific evidence that apple trees can grow in our stomachs, but why take a chance?
Brad Stanhope is a former Daily Republic editor. Reach him at bradstanhope@hotmail.com.
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