“What do you mean I don’t have to floss? I’ve been told that I have to floss every day or my teeth will fall out and I will never be able to get into dental heaven!”
Well, I don’t know if this will be good news or bad news for you. What you’ve been told is only partially true. I’m going to let you in on a dirty little secret. Floss is not a goal. Floss is a tool the way a screwdriver is a tool. The goal is to remove the film of bacterial deposits that we call plaque. Floss has a purpose just like screwdriver has a purpose. And, just like screwdriver is not the only tool in the toolbox …neither is floss. There are other tools that you can use.
“Plaque does not hurt so what’s the big deal if I have a little layer of nasty, filthy disgusting germs on my teeth? I can’t even see them so why worry about it?
You can’t see electricity either, but I’ll bet you won’t stick your tongue in a light socket because it will hurt you. Guess what? So will plaque/biofilm. When it piles up under the gum line and in between teeth it causes inflammation, infection, tooth rot and gum disease. If your gums bleed, then even brushing your teeth introduces the germs and the biofilm into your bloodstream. We have irrefutable scientific evidence that the germs from your mouth travel to your heart, your lungs and to your brain and cause issues like heart disease, low weight pre-term babies, erectile dysfunction and can even contribute to Alzheimer’s disease. If you have diabetes it makes your diabetes worse.
So, if that gets your attention then the next logical question you should ask is this:
“Since I hate to floss and, you say I don’t have to use it if I don’t want to, what else is there?”
Okay, I’ll say it again. Floss is not a goal it’s a tool. This is a tool that gets between the teeth since the toothbrush can’t clean between the teeth (even if you press real hard.)
The following is a list of other tools that can get in between teeth to remove the biofilm germ layer:
- Stimudents
- Rotopoints
- Proxa-brushes
- Opalpix
- Gum soft pics
- Water picks
- Hydroflossers
Hate to floss? Shhhh. Don’t tell anyone I said, “You don’t have to floss to stay healthy.” You do however still have to clean between your teeth and you must remove the film of nasty little invisible bugs that cause damage and make you sick. You now have my full permission not to floss but you now have no excuse not to use another tool to keep yourself healthy. We will be happy to train you to use another tool and use it properly so that it gets the job done.
Remember, the decisions you make today will affect you for the rest of your life so make them carefully.
