How to Properly Dental Floss: Don’t!

The most common recommendation made by dental health professionals in addition to brushing your teeth? Floss daily. Turns out they have no evidence for that recommendation. . . .

A 2015 meta-analysis in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology looked at the evidence for the claim that flossing your teeth helps remove plaque and manage gingivitis. The meta-analysis included two systematic reviews of dental floss. It found “Weak evidence of unclear or small magnitude” that dental floss reduces gingivitis and no evidence that it has any effect on plaque. It concluded that “The majority of available studies fail to demonstrate that flossing is generally effective in plaque removal.”

When the Associated Press looked at the latest, best quality research on flossing, it found that the evidence from the 25 studies is “weak, very unreliable” and of “very low quality.”

The most recent version of the U.S Dietary Guidelines has quietly dropped the recommendation that people floss their teeth, and Britain’s National Health Service is now reviewing their recommendations on flossing.

Are there any proven ways to fight plaque and gingivitis? Naturally!

Several herbs and supplements have been proven to fight cavities and gingivitis, including coenzyme Q10, green tea, neem, aloe vera, probiotics and more.

For a full discussion of what natural health has to offer for your gums and teeth, see this month’s issue (19.1) of The Natural Path Newsletter.