The TRUTH About Flossing Teeth (What You Aren't Being Told)

I'm a dentist. I think brushing and flossing are very important for the health of your teeth and gums. If you totally stay away from sweets and you have really good genetics and you're a really good brusher, you can maybe get away with not flossing. I'm not one of those people. I like sweets too much and I developed several cavities a few years ago. Now I floss every night. It only takes a minute or two when you get good at it.

I think part of the reason dentists recommend floss is population bias. Who's involved in studies on the effects of dentistry? Their patients. Who are their patients? People who have issues.
Not non-patients, and not those who don't have issues most of the time.
Some of us need it, desperately, others just...don't.

I have had poor mouth hygiene all my life due to mental health issues and childhood negligence/abuse. I've only had one small cavity in between 2 molars, probably from not dislodging a piece of food. My dentist was shocked at how healthy my gums/teeth were despite poor habits. I use floss & toothpicks occasionally when I need to dislodge stuck food but what I believe helps me far more is just brushing with an electric toothbrush & using green-tea based mouthwash regularly to help flush out bad bacteria. I also DON'T use/get whitening treatments, or dental "cleanings" regularly since they can strip away enamel & remove your mucous which actually protects the teeth. Theres a reason they put a substitute chemical coating on your teeth after cleaning ~ to protect them after theyve stripped all your natural protection.

Just from a medical perspective, the maintenance of other mucousal surfaces is mostly done by the body naturally & we only need to minimally intervene when we introduce bad bacteria, and to support immune health or treat conditions that affect cell turnover. For eg) douching the vagina, doesn't and shouldn't be done for most women & only in cases where there is recurrent BV or yeast infections that aren't helped by lifestyle changes or other more gentle interventions (like using non-fragranced soap, switching to breathable underwear, letting the vagina breathe by going without underwear at home, topical treatments, etc).

Thank you for approaching this topic in such a logical way, addressing these SACRED COWS in the dentistry field. We know hospital aquired infections are a thing, we KNOW medical interventions all come with risks and can increase health issues when applied to the wrong people. Dermatologists understand EXTRACTIONS can actually harm the natural skin barrier & worsen or cause cystic acne (infections). Why can't the dentistry industry?

Oh right...money. Treating people hollistically and logically would mean fewer patients, less profitable treatments, and more caution against routine dental practices such as "cleanings" and whitening.

xylitol salesperson

I have been flossing every night before bed for the past 30 years. During that time, I've probably seen a dentist twice..

I’m trying to figure out what the recommendation is. Xylitol is an artificial substance. What does she recommend that we do with it?

I appreciate you citing studies but the fact that you can't name the studies or have them linked in your description is telling. You might be a dentist but I do not trust your credibility in reading and interpreting studies. Especially when you can't even date them or name them in your video or description. Dentistry is not going to just ignore the science of what works. This would have likely became the norm years ago if what you claim is true. You seem to have a vendetta against current dental practices because your colleagues quite rightly labeled some of your beliefs as pseudoscience.

Lady is nuts.

What about using a water pik

What do you think about water flooser by Phillips?

Do you brush with xylitol or eat the xylitol

I would like to think that I take my oral health pretty serious and do my best considering limited time, and at times limited funds.
I skipped flossing for years and ended up with 7, yes 7 cavities and I absolutely brushed every single day with a tooth strengthening tooth paste, and using Act before bed.
Once I flossed again, all my check ups were fine, maybe 1 or 2 cavities over the years.
As an agressive "teeth grinder" while sleeping, I try to babyy teeth as much as possible.

flossing help to prevent bad breath !! no ofense dr Ellie but you loock like Michelle Troconis !! im sorry but im so astonished the fisical similarity WOW !!

I know truth when I hear it and boy oh boy am I glad to hear this goodbye floss and hello less time cleaning and damaging my teeth when I can change the environment of my mouth! ❤❤Bless you lady!

Those are the strongest neck muscles I've ever seen; That is a compliment

The point of flossing into your gums is not to change any chemical makeup but to strengthen the gums.
When I continue to floss into my gums, they don't bleed. If I stop flossing over a period of time, then start up again, they tend to bleed.
This goes beyond theory. It is cause and effect.

❤️✌️

My brother in law is a dentist in Europe and told me the same thing - not to floss. I thought he was crazy, but evidently he had a point.

Since watching this video a few days ago I “floss” my teeth more than I ever have! Also Thanks so much for the xylitol info. 😬

I had bad breath for close to a decade and finally discovered it was caused by Not flossing under my bridge. Never had a problem since then.

I feel like this is known but there is no financial incentives. If incentive was based on preventing it woul be different

Have never flossed. Brush and rinse my mouth once or twice a day with hydrogen peroxide. Have all my teeth at age 70. World renown cardiologist Dr. Levy also claims rinsing with hydrogen peroxide kills bacteria that can potentially spread to the heart and cause heart attacks. I told my dentist this and he changed the subject.

unless you do it in a stupid way, recommending no floss is pure heresy

Nice ad

Do you use this xylitol that you promote? I know there are xylitols out there that are not processed correctly.

I believe if mom and dad had flossed they would never had lost their teeth.

A lightbulb moment that Xylitol increases Butyrate in the gut. Long Covid disrupts the microbiome, and I was advised to take supplements to increase Butyrate. So I will give this a go for oral health as well as microbiome health. Nobody ever recommended Xylitol.

Sorry, but flossing is essential to remove food. If you leave it your mouth microbiome will soon change.

sorry, but im gunna have to go with the other 1,000,000 dentists who say to floss

Incredibly interesting notions on Flossing and other related subjects; also, the observations on that technique of gentle flossing with toothpaste in some stage of toothbrushing; also, this notion about help Mineralization, involving also the quality of the saliva wetting the whole mouth, and dry mouth issue, etc. Also, this discussion on Mineralization, gives me a new reason to put more effort in brushing my theeth a bit more often in a single day, because it's not simply about cleaning the mouth and theeth, it's much more than that. However, regarding Xylatol, I did a quicdk search and this sounds hazardous to human health, especially if used on a certain regular basis; it looks like the kind of thing that should be avoided whenever possible, there should be other alternatives that are safer and at the same time effective. Of course, for one-off kind of Treatment, that should probably be ok... but I'd be concerned about any repetitive use and long-time exposure.

This is why people should not take advice from fools like this women.

What's your position on water flossing?
Is it any better?

I have gumlime cavities and gum recession from damage caused by an eating disorder (bulimia) in my youth.
How can I repair my gums?
Use the mouthwash you have recommended, focus on K2 in diet and Xylitol, and brush by massaging the gums?
What else?
Thank you 🙏.

NUTS

Humans have built Honda Civics that can go upwards of 200k miles without any major repair so long as you just do proper maintenance like oil changes, tire rotations, etc. If humans can do that with a piece of machinery, don't you think it's a lot more than likely that God built us humans without the need of flossing or a tooth brush? I'm fairly certain that most things (especially in the medical field) are handled properly through diet and exercise.

15 min in she has said nothing over and over

click bait

I dont floss

Hi Dr. Phillips!
What do you advise for someone with high mineralization? My hygienist says the mineralization is actually protective. Still, I have it removed every 4 months.
BTW, the mineralization increased dramatically on my very low carb diet. IDK if it is a mineral dumping effort by my body, or what, but it's really fast... after a cleaning, it takes just two weeks before I have minerals building up on my lower teeth, tongue side. : /

What about a Waterpik? That seems like a safe non-invasive technique.

I use the little brushes , I need to , I have pockets and they need cleaning .....if i didn't use the little brushes then my breath would stink. I only use natural toothpaste and xylitol .... unfortunately my gums did suffer due to medication i was on, not because I didn't clean my teeth . My kids don't floss as they have no gaps that harbour food. This video is ridiculous

How would you get rid of food caught in teeth? I always have "debris" after I rinse and spit!

I need to floss because I always get food stuck in certain locations, but after hear this information, I no longer push the floss below the gum line like they tell you to do. I carefully dislodge the fragment and that's it. And I do it after the brushing and before the Listerine when using the mouth care system.

My mom puts her dental floss picks back in her purse and reuses them. Gah!

I’m done. What humans do to innocent animals is abominable. Unnecessary evil and you introduce this as “science”

I just had a personal revelation. Perhaps you can tell me if it’s the same strep bacteria? When I was a child I got strep throat all the time. Even into my early 20’s I had it and even twice in a month. A couple years later I had my daughter. She is 10 now and I’ve never had strep since. She has had some dental issues despite limited sugar and with regular brushing and flossing.
Almost seems parasitic.. interesting.

Thank you for being a critical thinker.

Everything we were taught was a lie. On purpose.

Eating meat is another lie.
Every hospital patient is a carc(ass) cruncher.
They all look swollen.

You look great. ❤

No money in a healthy population 😎

my dental health improved significantly since I started flossing.

I think the diet also makes a difference. If you eat red meat and it get stuck between the teeth as opposed someone who eats more vegatables, which will dissolve.

People - please do not listen to this rubbish!