Eight Darned Good Reasons to Floss Your Teeth

Eight Darned Good Reasons to Floss Your Teeth

"Remember to floss your teeth," dentists say, but many of us forget their advice. Not only that, we don't understand why we're supposed to floss our teeth. We don't know that failing to floss leads to a dental domino effect: tartar, plaque, gingivitis, periodontitis, and teeth falling out. Yikes!

Accordng to a recent Harris Poll of 1,000 adults 35 years old and older, 60% of those surveyed knew little about gum disease. You may not know much about gum disease or even care about it. Many of us put flossing at the bottom of our "To Do" list. Here are eight reasons to put flossing at the top.

1. Flossing helps you to clean back teeth that are hard to reach, the areas between your teeth and under your gum line. (www.floss.com/flossing.htm, "Flossing: A New Secret to Good Health?")

2. Regular flossing helps to dislodge the 500 kinds of bacteria that thrive in your mouth. (www.MayoClinic.com, "Oral Health and Overall Health: Why a Healthy Mouth is Good for Your Body")

3. Tartar, a major cause of bad breath and cavities, can start to build up in only 24 hours. Flossing, combined with professional cleaning, helps to keep these things from happening. (US Food and Drug Administration, "Fighting Gum Disease: How to Keep Your Teeth")

4. Flossing helps to prevent plaque (bacteria) build-up in your mouth. (www.MayoClinic.com, "Oral Health and Overall Health: Why a Healthy Mouth is good for Your Body")

5. Regular flossing helps to prevent gingivitis, an inflamation of the gums that causes them to bleed, swell, and turn red or redish-purple. (www.MedlinePlus, "Gingivitis")

6. Untreated gingivitis can develop into periodontitis, a condition that causes your gums to pull away from your teeth. Flossing helps to prevent this from happening. (US Food and Drug Administration, "Fighting Gum Disease: How to Keep Your Teeth")

7. New research findings suggest that regular flossing helps to prevent heart disease. "Researchers have found that people with periodontal disease are almost twice as likely to suffer from coronary artery disease as those without periodontal disease." (American Academy of Periodontology, www.perio.org/consumer.mbc.heart.htm, "Heart Disease and Stroke")

8. Daily flossing helps you to keep your teeth and your smile. (US Food and Drug Adinistration, "Fighting Gum Disease: How to Keep Your Teeth")

Tape this list to your bathroom mirror, read it every day, and floss your teeth. Dentists recommend flossing after every meal. You're the boss so get your kids to floss. Then everyone in the family can have a happy smile.

http://www.harriethodgson.com

Harriet Hodgson has been a nonfiction writer for 27 years and is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists. Her 24th book, "Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief," written with Lois Krahn, MD, is available from http://www.amazon.com A five-star review of the book is also posted on Amazon. You'll find another review on the American Hospice Association website under the "School Corner" heading.