My Surprisingly Long Road to Better Oral Hygiene

My personal journey to better oral hygiene is long, winding, and not especially flattering. Way back in the 1970s, my dentist told me about flossing. I did it haphazardly through my teens and young adulthood. I kindasorta picked it up while I was pregnant, then basically not at all. And what did I hate most about going to the dentist — then and now? The dreaded flossing lecture. Twice a year like clockwork.

The Two‑Week Hack That Got Me Through My Appointments

Eventually, I discovered what today we’d call a hack: if you floss for the couple of weeks before your dental appointment, they can’t tell. Sometimes I even managed to avoid the lecture entirely. I was delighted with myself and did this for years.

And yes, when I did it for those two weeks, I noticed a difference—mostly less gum bleeding. But I turned a blind eye to that and refused to floss regularly out of a petty, childish desire to spite the dentist.

2015: Vindication! (Sort Of)

Then came 2015, when the federal Dietary Guidelines dropped flossing from their recommendations. I was gleeful. Dentists had been pushing flossing for decades, but the evidence behind it was surprisingly thin—few clinical studies, many of them small or short‑term. Dentists kept insisting because they saw the difference in their chairs, but the science hadn’t caught up.

The Science Slowly Shifts

Over time, studies began to emerge showing that flossing does have some health benefits. No one was shocked by the connection to gum disease. More surprising were associations between flossing and things like cardiovascular disease, dementia, and other chronic conditions.

But these studies usually look at overall oral hygiene or periodontal disease, not flossing specifically. So is flossing biologically special? Or is it just one of those behaviors that clusters with other healthy habits?

Hard to say. What we do know is that gum inflammation is strongly tied to systemic inflammation, and reducing one seems to help reduce the other. Either way, flossing seems like a small thing that might have an outsized impact.

Becoming a Daily Flosser (Against All Odds)

 Eventually, after some soul‑searching, I started flossing daily. I realized the only person I was hurting was myself—not the dentists I thought I was “fooling.” I was proud of myself.

But it wasn’t perfect. I still had occasional gum bleeding. At one appointment, my dentist insisted I must not be flossing. When I told him I was, he said, “Well, you’re probably not doing it right.”

Listen, dude—it’s a minor miracle I’m doing it at all.

I switched dentists after that. My new one doesn’t lecture, which is a relief. But I’m still frustrated with the dental community. Their well‑meaning nagging often backfires. Studies show that around one‑third of U.S. adults floss regularly. Whatever the strategy is, it’s not working. Researching this post, the clinical trial papers I found where they educated a group on flossing and then found a difference (somewhat disappointingly minor differences by the way) ended with the recommendation that dentists do their best to educate their patients. What they really need is some investigation into how to educate their patients without just pissing people off.

Some Ideas for Dentists

Here are some ideas from AI on how to improve your pitch.

• Let people know most adults struggle with flossing — it’s not a moral failing, it’s a hard habit.

• Instead of lecturing, ask: “What’s the hardest part about flossing for you?”

• Recommend flossing one tooth tonight. Just one. Tiny wins build real habits.

• (Maybe) explain the benefit in one sentence: “Reducing gum inflammation helps reduce inflammation everywhere else.”

• Offer options: string floss, water flosser, interdental brushes — whatever feels easiest.

• No shame. No scolding. Just small, doable steps that actually stick.

Enter: The Water Flosser

Recently, I added a water flosser to my routine. I bought it after getting a dental implant and realizing that food kept getting stuck around it—string floss just slid right over the problem. My dentist suggested a water flosser (after I asked for advice), and wow. It blasts everything out. I use this WaterPik model.

There’s a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, it’s actually easier than flossing. I still use string floss too, so now I have a whole routine. It adds maybe a minute or two, and it seems to genuinely make a difference.

My Accidental “Clean–Rinse–Repeat” Method

Years ago, I also discovered by accident that brushing, rinsing, and brushing again (sometimes a third time) reduced gum bleeding for me. The standard advice is “brush for three minutes,” and my method probably lands somewhere around there in total. But I prefer my clean–rinse–repeat approach. It matches how I clean everything—from my teeth to the kitchen sink.

Where I am Now

In the end, what finally changed my behavior wasn’t better evidence or scarier health statistics—it was letting go of the resentment. Once flossing stopped feeling like a moral failing I was being graded on, it became just another small act of self‑maintenance.

I still think the dental profession has a messaging problem, but I also can’t deny that doing a few unglamorous things every day has made a real difference. Turns out the quiet, boring habits are often the ones that matter most, whether or not anyone is there to lecture you about them.