A report by American news agency the Associated Press has found that no scientific evidence has proven the effectiveness of flossing. The US Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Agriculture have removed their recommendation to use dental floss from their latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
ln our opinion, not flossing would be going too far. lt is a good solution for teeth with one root, that is anterior teeth; however, it is crucial to apply the right technique safely in order not to injure the gingivae.
ldeally, one should use dental floss for the narrow interdental spaces between the anterior teeth and interdental brushes for the posterior teeth. lnterdental brushes are very effective and extremely easy to use, but must be applied gently and thus atraumatically [without damage]. This can only be guaranteed through proper training by dental professionals, something which CURADEN offers in combination with its CURAPROX products.
The advantages of interdental brushes as opposed to flossing have been proven in Comparison of different approaches of interdental oral hygiene: lnterdental brushes versus dental floss and Flossing for the management of periodontal diseases and dental caries in adults.
ln an article in the German Gesundheitstipp [health tips] magazine published in 2010, dental practitioners commented on dental floss. Oral hygiene expert Dr Jiri Sedelmayer, then at the University of Hamburg, said: “Most patients floss incorrectly, and this will inevitably lead to injury of the gums.” Dr Ulrich P. Saxer, a specialist dentist from Zurich, has observed injuries in every patient who uses dental floss, which may cut into the gingivae. Saxer further explained that over time gingival recession results, trapping food. Thomas lmfeld, professor emeritus at the Clinic of Preventive Dentistry, Periodontology and Cardiology at the University of Zurich, argued: “Dental floss causes more harm than good.”
CEO and owner of CURADEN Ueli Breitschmid takes the following position: “Since 1972, our company CURAPROX has been the pacesetter for interdental brushes, which remove both food residue between the teeth and ‐ more importantly ‐ dental plaque. Since they do not damage tissue, our interdental brushes are not only recommended by the best dentists, but also prescribed to their patients and their use taught to each patient individually. ‘Do you already CURAPROX ‐ or still floss?’ has been one of our slogans for 30 years.”
CURAPROX products are available in Canada exclusively through Oral Science (www.curaprox.ca)