Oct 6, 2026, 8:48 PMWhenever I get my teeth cleaned and they ask me how often I floss I give a different answer, ranging from never to after every meal. Their level of chiding that I should floss more scales with the response. Clearly it is not based on the condition of my teeth since I maintain the same flossing level throughout.
@shac That makes sense, right? If you say you floss after every meal, and they choose to believe you, and your teeth still aren't doing great, their only choice is to conclude that something's wrong which can't be solved by flossing. If you say you never floss they can offer that as a simple* way to improve teeth health.
*I mean it's simple in theory but not in practice, my unused pack of dental floss has been on my desk for a few years after a dentist recommended buying some
Oct 6, 2026, 9:22 PM@mort But conversely if my teeth are good it doesn’t make sense to recommend more flossing regardless of the answer
Oct 6, 2026, 10:41 PM
Oct 7, 2026, 9:45 PM@shac Now imagine going to the doctor and being overweight or a woman or brown.
Oct 8, 2026, 1:20 AM@shac My dentist last asked if I was still using the "electrical toothbrush". The weird part about that (other than the phrasing) was that she never remembers anything about me. That she would remember I use an electric toothbrush is strange to me.
Anyway, I don't get "do better" anymore now that I floss and brush with this. Even though my gums were worse than usual this last time.
I've never been told to brush twice a day.