National Brush Your Teeth Day is Nov. 1

Hey Kids,
Get that Halloween candy out of your teeth!
Floss and brush on Nov. 1
The Ad Council has some 2 min videos for you.

Is Flossing BS?

As one of the few people who have watched a video on Discovery News (I was surprised by how many have 0 views - Is it Anthony's voice?), their video for Oct 15, Flossing if BS!, of course got my attention.
The gist of the video is that various studies have failed to show that flossing makes much of a difference in the long term health of your mouth.
Another item that's included is the assertion that "professional" flossing was effective compared to the flossing routines of children.
Where to begin?
A few years ago, this matter caught my attention after I heard it being discussed among a group of dental public health professionals.
The claim that "professional" flossing was effective particularly interested me.  What is a professional flosser?  What tricks do they know that other mere flossing mortals can't aspire to?
It turns out that the claim about "professional" flossers was applied to a few mothers who were given simple flossing instructions in order to floss kids teeth daily in a school study.  The kids who didn't get flossed by the Mom's didn't do so well in comparison - is it possible kids who don't floss sometimes say they do? The study showed flossing worked and kids probably don't floss or floss well enough to compare with an adult.  There isn't a good study involving adults that's really shown whether flossing decreases cavities or gum disease.  But, keep in mind, it's hard to show an effect on things like decay that happen slowly and may be affected by a number of things like diet and tooth health.
Anthony, you and your video crew, may have missed a lot of info, but I've seen people with a lot more special training (and better voices), miss out on the same stuff.
If you want more details about this topic, and a fuller explanation of the problems with showing that flossing makes a difference in the long term health of your mouth, please check out this "White Paper" we posted in 2011 to explain the story.
Meanwhile, keep in mind what Anthony commented on in his video, if you want a mouth that's not really clean, don't floss.  Whether or not flossing will pay off long term, you know it cleans better than brushing alone.  That's something even monkeys have figured out!

Cutting Food With Floss

You've probably seen something about this elsewhere on the web, so it's about time it gets mentioned here:
Floss can be a handy tool to cut a variety of foods - especially soft items like cheese and cake.
Here's a 1 min video that will get you started using floss around the kitchen.

Using Dental Floss to Cut Your Food

The Flossguard Monster

I'm sure it's well intended, and it may even help people floss, but this new product for flossing, the Flossguard, looks like an evil thing you wouldn't want to get too close to your face.
Didn't the designers ever watch a Transformer movie?

You can read one of the recent press rewrites, here

What's the Odds of A Hurricane Hitting Hawaii? What About a Hurricane Named "Flossie?"

Hey, with the whole Pacific to roam around, who thought Flossie would find Hawaii???
At first, it seemed nice to have a storm as a vague reminder of floss.  Now, it's a public menace!

Well, we wish all the best to the people of the Aloha State, especially Jon P, our official NFC representative, in Hilo!
Thanks a lot for the name, Weather Service!  How about naming the next storm "Plaque?"

Floss Magic Trick

Here's a magic trick you can do using floss!
He's just saying it's "stupid."
(First he does the trick, then he shows how you can do it too.)

Flossing Before or After Brushing?

Our friends in the dental assistant program at Everest College have put together another graphic about How NOT to Brush Your Teeth.

The last item in the list of dental care things NOT to do is "Flossing after Brushing." The text says that this will only bring some of the benefits of flossing, and flossing before brushing will "improve your oral health."

Well, this is a widely discussed topic - in dental offices and on the web. Personally, the logic of cleaning away the big particles with floss and using the brush to clean the uncovered surfaces seems reasonable to me. But the broader view of "You just floss any time you want," will probably be adequate to promote dental health and prevent anyone from feeling like they're flossing wrong.

Consider that most studies suggest that only a small fraction of people actually floss with any regularity. And, as discussed earlier, proving the effectiveness of flossing is as difficult as proving the specific effects of any behavior in slow onset conditions like tooth decay and gum disease.

So, let's say you should floss. If the "get the big stuff & brush clean-up" idea appeals to you, floss before brushing. Floss after brushing - which will eventually be followed by more brushing - and you'll still get cleaning in those tough places between teeth!

BTW: The graphic assembled by the future dental assistants at Everest College mentions certain brushing angles and patterns that should be avoided. If anyone is looking for a challenge when brushing and wants to introduce some new cleaning angles into their brushing routine - try holding your brush with your other hand while you clean your teeth.  It's tough, but it will probably clean some new spots.