There’s good news for people who repeatedly find themselves in this predicament. The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services removed flossing from the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines, because the evidence fails to show the effectiveness of flossing. Some argue that this is because researchers haven’t been able to follow enough participants over enough time – or that we’re just bad flossers.
“Flossing is not a highly technical skill,” said Dr. William Bachand, a dentist at Augusta University Dental Associates said, “but the fact is that many individuals do it incorrectly.”
In response to the announcement, non-flossers may feel relieved, while stakeholder organizations like the American Dental Association and American Academy of Periodontology are adhering to their beliefs about the importance of flossing.
For more about the flossing debate, check out this post in the Your Health Today blog.