Friday Informal Poll
Posted by Sarah on 19 Jan 2007 at 06:52 am | Tagged as: Thinking Happy Thoughts
What if your favorite blogger never ever posted, and then when she posted, she ordered you to answer her poll, and quickly?
Okay, on to the question: Which is more important: dental floss or mouthwash? Or, if you had to cut one of these two things out of your routine, which would remain?
More to come on this subject.
[...] Ok, as my lovely wife has stolen my thunder, I’m in need of your help. Help us settle this domestic dispute. Which is better for your oral hygiene: flossing or gargling with mouthwash? [...]
Dental Floss is far more important.
Trust me. I’m a dentist.
Flossing is better. In fact, I did a survey once to see what my life expectancy might be. For various activities and lifestyle choices you added or subtracted time from the starting age. If I were a flosser, I could have added 7 years! Mouthwash? Nada. That’s not to say I believe it actually extends your life expectancy that much, but there must be something really amazing about it since it’s next to smoking, drinking, and exercizing on the list of things used to predict longevity. I’m certainly not being diplomatic here, and hope the marriage isn’t contingent upon both being equally beneficial. Even though I really believe flossing is the key to success in our universe, I don’t do it very often. So to me, any dental care above and beyond your daily brushing is superior to none.
I see mouthwash and floss as an Edison/Tesla debate. Though DC was cool, AC eventually won out for power plant distribution to home use.
Same thing here. Though floss is cool and all, mouthwash gives your mouth that immediate feeling of freshness! Yet who’s winning out here? Floss! And for what? Better marketing?
Or no, wait. Maybe it’s like VHS vs. Betamax…
I would cut out mouth wash. If you floss then brush your teeth then rinse with water, you should be covered. Clearly mouthwash is great to use, but I could probably go without it.
Glad to see a post! : )
Let’s see… cavities, plaque, and gum disease versus a “fresh” taste and being able to talk in someone’s face without causing a gag reflex. Hmmm.
The dentist and dental hygienist tell me floss really helps your gums. Healthy gums are so important and not just for your teeth. Infected gums can cause infections to spread to other organs in your body.
That being said, my co-worker from Romania says that her Romania dentist said that the benefits of flossing is a big American scam to sell a product that you really don’t need.
Better for oral hygiene - vs. - more important socially - those could mean very different things. I think hands down, floss is better for one’s oral hygiene. Sometimes I can dislodge some hefty food particles thanks to flossing - stuff I didn’t even know was there! Swishing with mouth wash? - certainly important for conversationally-ready, minty-fresh breath, but doubtfully better for overall oral health. Hmmm - so if I could only have one for the rest of my life?…. Mouthwash might freshen my breath in the short-term, but will it help me keep my teeth and gums intact 50 years from now? I pick floss, no question.
Mouthwash.
I am deeply concerned that DENTAL issues are discussion-worthy at your house! And with Valentine’s Day coming up…
HA! Well, not to fear, the dental issue is behind us now. Rob is faithfully flossing every night and even could be heard from the other room saying, “Dear, do you think I should bring floss to work? I just love flossing so much.”