The Importance of Daily Flossing

When I was a child, I never even heard of flossing, not even from my dentist. In the United States, flossing didn't become mainstream until the 1980s. Now it is considered a vital part of oral hygiene and a key factor of total physical health. Thousands of studies have linked oral disease to systemic disease.

Your gums can reflect what’s going on in the rest of your body. Inflammation is well-known as an important component of chronic disease. Food particles that are not removed by flossing, can promote bacterial growth, decay and lead to gingivitis, as well as chronic low-grade inflammation.

When the bacteria that cause tooth decay and gum disease enter into your circulatory system, it causes your liver to release C-reactive protein, which has an inflammatory effect on your entire circulatory system.

People who fail to floss once a day and to brush their teeth twice a day, may be putting themselves at risk of not only gum disease, but heart disease too. They also can raise their risk of a fatal heart attack by 1,000%. There’s also a 700% higher incidence of type 2 diabetes among those with gum disease.

Because of the inflammation from unbalanced bacteria in your mouth, other health impacts can occur:

• Bad breath (halitosis)
• Dementia: failing to brush twice a day increases your risk of dementia
• Pneumonia: good oral hygiene has been shown to lower your risk of pneumonia by about 40%. Other research has shown that people with periodontitis have a 300% greater chance of contracting pneumonia
• Erectile dysfunction (ED): ED is more than twice as common among those with periodontitis than those without ED
• Kidney disease and more

1 in 5 Americans Don't Brush Their Teeth Twice a Day:

• 32.4% of U.S. adults over the age of 30 never floss
• 37.3% floss, but not daily
• 30.3% floss on a daily basis
• More women than men never floss
• Low-income participants are less likely to floss than those in higher income brackets

Poor oral hygiene has also been linked to an increased risk for head and neck cancers, as noted in a recent analysis of 13 studies that were part of the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology Consortium, The lack of tooth brushing and low frequency of dental visits consistently raised the risk of head and neck cancers.

Research revealing the connection between the microorganisms in your mouth and cancer, as well as many other health problems. It is clear that oral hygiene is a necessary prerequisite if you want to be healthy.

1. Eat a wholesome diet of real food: fresh fruits and vegetables, grass-pastured meats, poultry, eggs and dairy, nuts and seeds.

2. Minimize consumption of sugar and processed food

3. Add in some naturally fermented foods to your diet, such as sauerkraut, pickles, kimchee or kefir

4. Brush your teeth twice daily and floss every day

5. Oil pulling

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