Lancette VanGuilder is the president of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association, and she does not floss.
“We are brainwashed from the time we get into dental hygiene school that floss is boss,” said Ms. VanGuilder, who practices in Nevada. “But the standard message we give everyone — brush and floss — doesn’t work anymore.”
To better clean between her teeth, Ms. VanGuilder has replaced her floss with tiny scrubbers called interdental brushes, with bristles that are typically made of nylon or rubber. And a growing number of dental professionals are encouraging their patients to try them, either along with or instead of floss.
The American Dental Association says that the best method of interdental cleaning, or cleaning between your teeth, is the one that you will do regularly. And given that many people do not floss — only about one-third of Americans do, according to some estimates — the association advises dentists that other devices might be more pleasant or effective for those patients. According to the association, there are many effective tools for cleaning between teeth, including floss, dental picks, interdental brushes or water flossers.
There is limited research comparing floss with other interdental cleaning tools, and most of those studies are relatively small. But a 2018 review of 22 clinical trials found that the brushes were more effective than floss or other tools at reducing gum inflammation.
Anecdotally, many dental professionals said they had seen the difference interdental brushes have made for their patients — and sometimes even for their families.
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The post Dentists Know You Hate Flossing. Try This Instead. appeared first on New York Times.
