NFC Single Floss Packet to the Rescue!

Here's a note and photo that arrived today from Leanne, the NFC's Chief Australian Correspondent.  Leanne is currently visiting Bermuda.

Bermuda: 0800 hrs. A desperate call from the bathroom.
 
'Argh!  I left my floss in Melbourne'
 
'don't worry, I'm carrying a small emergency supply. 
 
'thanks NFC!'

"Teach Me How to Brushy"

A great video from Oregon.
The mix of cool and uncool makes it explosive fun!

"Teach Me How to Brushy"

Frank Zappa's Dental Floss Ad

Frank Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) had a big hit in 1973 with his typically wacky song "Montana," about moving to Montana to become a dental floss tycoon. 

By 1981, the song was so popular the American Dental Association had Zappa do a group of 3 radio spots promoting dental health. 

Here's the 30 sec spot where he promotes dental floss.

"Montana" was probably the best flossing song of the 20th Century!
Thanks, Frank!  We'll floss with you in mind.

Tie Floss in a Loop for Easier Flossing!

This idea was posted on Lifehacker by Thorin Klosowski.

Our resident flossing expert, Dr. Chip Tartaroff, tried it and finds it a perfectly good way to floss.

But, by the way, unless you have terrifically tight teeth, Dr. T points out that you don't often need to wrap floss around your fingers to work with it.

For those with tight teeth, however, this may make flossing a bit easier.

Floss on!

Matthew McConaughey's Flossing Exposed!

Doing publicity for his new movie Mud (a Huckleberry Finn rip off) at the Cannes film festival, Matthew McConaughey revealed how tied up he is in flossing.

Close inspection of Matthew's left shoe reveals a piece of dental floss caught on his laces.

Here at the NFC, we're proud to have evidence that this often bare-chested hunk apparently wades in dental floss!

Keep flossing Matthew!

"I Don't Floss"

Dr. Chip Tartaroff, DDF (Doctor of Dental Flossing) answers flossing questions for readers of this blog and the NFC website, www.flossing.org.  Here's a recent question from Moon M:

Dr T,
Okay, so I don't floss.
At all.
Now don't be disgusted just yet!
The reason I don't floss is because I feel like I don't need to.
There are spaces/gaps between ALL my teeth - I'm not kidding.
I don't see how food could get stuck there, I would feel it as the spaces are quite large.
Am I right in my reasoning?
Moon
ps. I wish I could afford braces :(
pps. what's the verdict on adult braces? I'm 23.

Hi Moon,

So you don't floss. Based on how you describe your teeth, you may not need to.

Even though you're not a flosser, I'm glad you decided to write and ask about it.

You probably hear about flossing a lot, and it's made you "flossing curious."

There is a simple way you can figure out if not flossing "at all" is right for you.

Honestly, as I've mentioned elsewhere, for me, the food stuck between my teeth is probably the prime reason I got to be such a floss sympathizer.

Not you, however.

But there are other reasons to floss, and for you, I'd suggest a simple test.

Take a piece of floss and gently run it along the edges of your teeth - especially your back teeth.

Check for two things -

First, does the floss smell?

If you answer yes, it's a sign your brushing isn't cleaning enough around the base of some teeth. The smell is from the bacteria and food debris in your mouth that can cause bad breath and cavities.

The second thing is whether there is blood on the floss.

Since you're not a flosser, and regular flossing does toughen up your gums, even if you're gentle, a little bleeding might happen. But regularly seeing blood on floss or your tooth brush is a sign of sickly gums. Sucking on some vitamin C might be helpful (see "Floss Your Roots," below), but more brushing and flossing will certainly help. Some people have great teeth with few if any cavities but get over confident about their mouth and develop big problems with gum disease.

Gum problems are what I'd suggest you watch out for and use floss to check your gum health from time to time.

Quick note regarding braces -  they work, but they take about 2 years and cost $.

Wiki has a good piece on them: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_braces

I've heard about people in their 50s using the new clear braces. By the time you're 25, your braces could be off. If you're lucky, the braces will also be paid off by then.

Thanks again for writing!

Cheers,

Dr. T

Use Floss to Open a Chain Locked Door!

Did MacGyver ever do this?
Say your Grandpa has fallen down in his room and needs help - but his door is locked with a chain lock.  How can you get in to help him?
Floss to the rescue.
Here's a video that shows how you can open a chain locked door using a (long) piece of floss.
Floss - My Hero!

Video: Open-a-chain-lock-with-a-piece-of-floss