
Tell your dentist to suck it: there’s little evidence flossing works - user_001
http://www.theverge.com/2016/8/2/12353872/flossing-ineffective-medical-benefits-dentist
======
justrossthings
"Anon, I suggest you start flossing more regularly to clean debris in-between
your teeth"

"No thanks Mr. Dentist, an article I read on the internet said that is dumb
:-)"

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWdD206eSv0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWdD206eSv0)

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mattbgates
I floss a few times a week and the smell can be just awful, like rotting meat
was stuck in there. So I will continue flossing, brushing my teeth, and
rinsing with mouthwash, despite the evidence. After 10 years of this and
finally going to the dentist... although there was some plaque buildup and
some gum inflammation, as the dentist claimed that these were harder things to
remove over time and required dental tools, she did let me know that I had no
cavities.

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nibs
While exciting news, with an interesting, counter-intuitive finding, that is a
horrible (though accurate) title and worse article.

Here is the original story:
[http://bigstory.ap.org/article/f7e66079d9ba4b4985d7af350619a...](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/f7e66079d9ba4b4985d7af350619a9e3/medical-
benefits-dental-floss-unproven)

and HN posting:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12210772](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12210772)

~~~
jadence
Even earlier HN posting of the same article:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12208402](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12208402)

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clifanatic
Be that as it may, I can smell somebody who doesn't floss from 10 feet away.
You should floss if not for yourself, then at least for the rest of us.

~~~
civilian
Bullshit. Some people have halitosis, some people just don't brush regularly.
There is one of my coworkers who occasionally has really bad breath, but it's
not clear that he just missed a flossing.

Source: I have a hygiene pact with a coworker. (If either of us ever smells or
has a bad appearance, we're pact-bound to tell the other.) I floss twice a
year: 48 hours before my dentist appointments, the times I've had bad breath
have not been flossing related.

~~~
gurkendoktor
> I have a hygiene pact with a coworker.

Huh, that's a cool idea :) Is that common (under another moniker maybe)? I
can't find anything on Google. Just proposing such a pact can probably be
tricky, but I've been thinking about something similar recently.

~~~
civilian
We were fast friends and one of us was bold to make fun of the spilled food on
the other's shirt, and it led to "oh man I'm glad you told me before I walked
into that meeting" which led to "oh yeah let's always do this."

