INEFFECTIVE?

Feds: Flossing May Have Few Benefits

Recommendation removed from health guidelines.

Dental floss might not be as effective as originally believed, according to a new report. One year after the Associated Press asked the federal government for scientific evidence of the effectiveness of flossing—a requirement in order to be listed as a guideline—it was omitted from the newest version this year. The government acknowledged to the Associated Press that it was never researched. In a separate review, the news organization found the evidence was “weak” and “very unreliable.” Additionally, studies conducted by the American Dental Association and the American Academy of Periodontology were using “outdated methods or tested few people.”