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We’re going to change our discussion of local businesses to get back on our topic of dental health. The dental topic today is something that you’ve probably heard stressed at all of your dental visits – flossing.
Flossing is the most dreaded dental health ritual. There’s a bit by the comedian, Mitch Hedberg, that goes “I know how hard it is to stop smoking. It’s as hard as it is to start flossing.” It’s true, though. A lot of people are dental health maestros, until it’s time to floss.
They’ll pull out all the stops: brushing three times a day for two minutes, chewing sugar-free gum, rinsing with mouthwash, but they won’t floss.
People hate flossing. There’s no instant gratification with flossing (unless you work out a huge chunk of steak). Most of the time it just seems like a grueling task of threading a piece of string through the tightest spaces of your molars.
There is no visible payoff that you’re actually cleaning your gums or removing germs. So, unsurprisingly, a lot of people hate flossing. According to a survey by NPR, people hate flossing so much that they actually lie about their flossing habits. In fact, 27% of people lie about how often they floss their teeth.
Chores People Would Rather Do than Floss
According to a poll taken by Perio.org, some people find flossing so unpleasant that they’d rather do a laundry list of chores instead of floss, which takes less than a minute.
- In fact, 14% of people said they’d rather clean their toilets than floss. It’s hard for me to imagine wanting to scrub a porcelain throne than clean your gums – but hey, to each their own.
- About 9% of people polled said they’d rather sit in gridlock traffic for an hour. This one is somewhat understandable, because you get to, at least listen to music in traffic. But, you could kill two birds with one stone by flossing in traffic.
- 7% of those surveyed said they’d rather hear a kid cry on a plane than floss their teeth. Okay, this is seeming over the top now. Flossing can be annoying, if you don’t do it often. But not that annoying.
- 9% of folks would rather do their taxes. At least, this is more constructive. Although, I do find it surprising that people would rather pay the government than fight off gum disease. Think about all the money you could save from the long-term payoff of keeping your gums in pristine shape.
- About 14% said they’d rather stand in the queue of a checkout line. No judgement, but we could think of about 100 other things we’d rather do than stand in a checkout line, and flossing is one of them. At least, this activity has a tangible purchase.
- Approximately 7% would rather hear nails screech on a chalkboard than floss. Just the idea of hearing nails on a chalkboard makes my face squint up in pain. It’s difficult to imagine people being so disgusted by flossing.
As you can see, patients are pretty repulsed by flossing, despite all the warnings from their dental providers. We know that none of our patients would ever lie to us about flossing, though. Nonetheless, the great thing about flossing is that once you get in the habit of doing it, it gets easier.
Your gums might bleed, and it might be painful in the beginning. Don’t be alarmed, slight bleeding means that you’re cleaning out the infection. Over 500 different species of bacteria live in and around your gums. Flossing cleans the hard to find bacteria. Flossing is the best way to prevent gum disease and cavities between your teeth. Start flossing today to save yourself pain, time, and money in the future. Why treat oral diseases when you can prevent them?