“The Tooth And Nothing But The Tooth”
By Chris “Dr Smile Maker” Branfield
Is Flossing Rubbish Then?
Hello again, I hope you are well. Wow, Hull City beat Leicester City (Champions of England) last Saturday. It was electric. Hull hardly had a team to put out and had youth team players on the bench. Just shows you what can happen in life with effort and focus. Well done lads, let’s prove the pundits wrong against the odds.
Newspapers Rubbish Flossing
I have recently returned from my annual caravan holiday, in Devon this year. I was almost off grid with no Internet for the most part, and no TV. It was great! There was a report in the papers that using dental floss is useless that I heard about on the radio and I’ve only just had chance to have a look at it. I thought “this can’t be right”.
The main thing was that the studies into the effectiveness of using dental floss are a bit naff in scientific terms. The numbers of people in the studies are relatively small and the studies are relatively short so it is difficult to come to any meaningful conclusions.
Don’t Give Up The Floss Just Yet!
Flossing badly is pretty useless. Like anything, technique is key to success. If you look at the effectiveness of oiling a chain but keep missing the chain then it will be useless. Coaching is important. If you are in doubt ask your hygienist or dentist.
You need a short length between the fingers/thumbs at any one time to have control and get under the gum and wrap as close to 180 degrees around the tooth to be effective. Now, I do agree that the interdental brushes may be better for some people and are very good to treat established gum disease.
Good Technique
Poor Technique
Interdental Brushes Are A Great Alternative To Floss. You Can’t Get Them Into Small, Tight Spaces So Here You’ll Need Floss Or Tape
What Do I Do Then?
We are welcoming our award-winning Dentist, Anna, to join our team this month as we grow. I’m off to Helsinki next week to do a 2 day course in Digital Dentistry. My daughter, Harriet has been working with us over the holidays and my son, Edward leaves next week before he goes to University after being with us for two years.
Until next time. Take care and be good.
Chris Branfield is Principal Dentist at Castle Park Dental Care, Castle Villa, 28 Castle Road, Cottingham, telephone 01482 772550. He has been in dental practice for 23 years and has a special interest in life changing, pain free dentistry with dental implants, rapid teeth straightening and cosmetic dentistry. And, not only that Chris is founder member and trustee of Dental Mavericks charity- ending the daily dental pain of Moroccan kids. For more patient success stories and Chris’s charity work go here now www.castleparkdental.co.uk
