The facts about oral hygiene have been put to test after dental health authorities declared there are no studies to support flossing as a good oral hygiene practice, raising questions on how people should effectively take good care of their pearly whites.
The facts about oral hygiene at test
While people are aware that the teeth should be protected as it is the primary part of the human body that helps us grind our food for sustenance and breaks it down for nourishment and digestion in the gut, decades-old practices like flossing and brushing every meal are a must.
Recent studies, however, seem to question those time-honored hygiene practices to be fallacious as experts are now in a rut as to what exactly is a rule of thumb when it comes to oral hygiene.
Flossing is not supported by evidence
The recent 2015 release of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans may suggest that flossing is no longer a part of what they recommend as a practice for oral hygiene, claiming that there has been no compelling evidence to support it.
The United States government acknowledges that fact that there has been no research findings that support claims on the effectiveness of flossing and that the US government could only make recommendations of the sort if there is evidence to support it in researches and studies.
In the United Kingdom, the latest guidelines from Public Health England states that there is no strong evidence to suggest that flossing is a good practice for oral hygiene compared to brushing the teeth using toothpaste.
This was also supported by the European Federation of Periodontology also released a statement back in 2014 that there is no hard evidence to prove that flossing has any benefit to dental health.
Dentists and experts disagree
In a published review from the Journal of Clinical Periodontology, experts claim that majority of researches have not given credence to the benefits of flossing and its effects on removing plaque from tooth enamel.
Mixed reactions
But many sectors do not seem to buy the idea that flossing is a bad idea, claiming that it also does not pose any danger for the teeth, so they might as well maintain a status quo,
The American Dental Association and the American Academy of Periodontology still cites some proof to claims that flossing prevents plaque buildup and also helps prevent tooth decay and gingivitis.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Dental Association, in their official website, continue to recommend brushing and flossing as two of the most essential ways to care for the teeth.
Many of them agree that here the toothbrush could not reach, flossing could, referring to the gaps in between teeth that may be reached only by using an dental floss to remove food particles or even plaque.
Brushing on the other hand is still the ideal and proven way to maintain good oral hygiene, which should not be overdone as it could also be damaging to the teeth.
One should ideally brush the teeth at least twice a day once after waking up and once before going to bed.
The post The Facts About Oral Hygiene Being Tested appeared first on NUTRITION CLUB CANADA.
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