I have never flossed before in my entire life

[Septimus]

its good to see you're taking a stand against dental hygene. good luck with that.

[Lisa65]

You sound like my husband

but the way I see it - his teeth, his problem! Same with yours

[londonchick]

I know there are some people who never floss and don't have any problems (yet ) unfortunately i'm not one of those people and if I don't floss i suffer badly with gum disease.

Just like i have friends who eat chocolate and cake everyday and don't put on weight where as I can't

Everybody is different i guess.

[Lisa65]

Just out of interest Matty_Oz, why do you choose not to floss? More to the point where did you get the information that the benefits of flossing are unfounded?

[rmwolf83]

I don't think my boyfriend has flossed once since we met 2-1/2 years ago. Drives me nuts cause he has beautiful teeth! He goes in for his cleaning and has like one tiny little cavity in a wisdom tooth that's pretty much too far back in his mouth to clean thoroughly anyway. Darn him! I want teeth like that!

So, I guess if you're lucky enough to not have any problems, more power to you, you can consider yourself quite fortunate! But sadly, some of us really have to work at keeping our teeth healthy. It stinks, but that's life!

Good luck with your braces!

~Rachel

[paralegallsj]

My sons are the same way and they have great teeth. As for me, that's another story.

My teeth are so crowded near my back teeth, that it was almost impossible to floss there. The flossin the front was okay.

I consider getting braced a committment and sacrifice financially so I am gonna try to do my part in this. The braces and the orthodontist can only do so much. As I see it it's a team effort.


Good Luck.

[Jillianleab]

I learned in a Biology class that everyone has different bacteria levels and types in their mouths. Some people have levels and types which make them more prone to decay, bad breath, etc. Others have very low levels of these bacteria and don't have the same problems. Interestingly enough, if you have two people with opposite types who open mouth kiss a lot, the bad bacteria invades the mouth of the good bacteria person and causes them the same sorts of problems! So, some people do not have the adverse effects of not flossing, but it's my understanding you can still end up with a build up of tartar and plaque. Your teeth may just be strong enough to fight against it and not cause cavities. If you are happy with your dental health and your dentist/ortho isn't screaming at you to floss, then don't. However, braces have a nasty habit of trapping large bits of food against your teeth, which could increase tooth problems without proper flossing and brushing. Good luck with not doing it.

[lionfish]

I would disagree with you that the benefits of flossing are a myth.

For my own part, I had been advised by successive dentists to floss regularly, but for many years took a cavalier attitude towards this. Some 25 years ago, my current dentist charted my gum recession and suggested that I was at risk of periodontal disease and tooth loss if I didn't do something about it.

This scared the living daylights out of me and I've been flossing regularly ever since. My gums have been healthy for many years now through a simple routine and 6 monthly visits for cleaning.

I'm investing a heap of money in getting my bite fixed and I want to keep my teeth forever. I know enough people who wear dentures to know that they are not the same as one's real teeth. If giving up a bit of my time to floss means I can keep my teeth forever, then this is a small price for me to pay.

[jcdamon3]

I got away with all kinds of stuff when I was young too. HAHAH.

Partying all night, not eating right, not flossing, not exercising then one day you wake up and realize you just can't do it anymore. Oh, and you wake up and you're 40.

My awakening on the flossing thing was the morning after a nice steak dinner and there was meat still stuck in between my teeth

If you find it nice to have rotting food in between your teeth - then more power to ya!

[lionfish]

That made me laugh.

I can't bear food stuck in my teeth, it drives me nuts. It particularly drives me nuts with braces.

[Lisa65]

..and getting food stuck seems to happen so much MORE with braces!

but talking of gum disease - I spent a long time not really cleaning my teeth properly and hardly ever flossing because I was in the grip of clinical depression for about 8 years. When I did brush my teeth my gums would bleed like mad and I didn't realise that meant I need to brush them more, so I wouldn't bother more often than not.
Once I came out of it and started looking after my teeth again my gums didn't bleed anymore, so I can only put it down to poor oral hygiene and possibly a bad diet.

[josephine]

Welcome to your future world of gum surgery.

[jalapeno]

Is this a windup?

[Lisa65]

How was it for you?

[Ravishing]

Matty_Oz,

I'm 26 and haven't been diligent about flossing but I've always been told that I had healthy gums. Notice I said HAD healthy gums. At my last cleaning the hygienist told me that if I don't start flossing regularly I'm going to have issues sooner than later.

Take it from someone in your age group, flossing is important. Now I floss every night. It only takes a few minutes and I usually do it when I'm watching tv since I'm just sitting there anyway.

I plan to get even more diligent about my oral hygiene once my braces go on. I know it will take longer and I may not always feel like it but I'm not paying multiple thousands of dollars only to lose my teeth when I'm older. I want to keep these babies for life!!