Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Leading dentist says there’s no real proof that flossing makes a difference

(PA)
(PA)

A LEADING British dentist has said that there is only “weak evidence” that flossing prevents gum disease and cavities.

Damien Walmsley, of Birmingham University, said the time and expense required for reliable studies mean the health claims often attributed to floss are unproven.

Walmsley is also a scientific adviser to the British Dental Association, and his claims will no doubt send shockwaves through the profession.

Whilst not completely shunning floss, Walmsley thinks “more sophisticated trials” are needed.

Earlier this year, the US government dropped the flossing recommendation from its guidelines because they must be legally based on scientific evidence.

 

Is everything we learnt here lies? (Matt Smith/AP)
Is everything we learnt here lies? (Matt Smith/AP)

An Associated Press investigation looked at the most rigorous research of the past decade. Twenty-five studies in leading journals found evidence for flossing is “weak, very unreliable”, of “very low quality”, and carries “a moderate to large potential for bias”.

One review conducted last year said: “The majority of available studies fail to demonstrate that flossing is generally effective in plaque removal.”

One study did credit floss with a slight reduction in gum inflammation. However, the reviewers ranked the evidence as “very unreliable”.

Floss can even cause harm, with poor technique leading to damaged gums and teeth and also dislodging bad bacteria, which can lead to infections.

The British Dental Association said: “Floss is of little value unless the spaces between your teeth are too tight for the interdental brushes to fit without hurting or causing harm.”

 


READ MORE

Could your home be harming your health?//