ArticleThe journal of evidence-based dental practice2017
In Defense of Flossing: Can We Agree It's Premature to Claim Flossing is Ineffective to Prevent Dental Caries?
Article in The journal of evidence-based dental practice, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed.
- Impact of video instructions and additional hands-on instructions on the dental flossing performance - an observational study.Clinical oral investigations · 2024Trial
- Factors Associated With Dental Caries in Primary Teeth of 5- and 6-Year-Old Polish Children.International journal of paediatric dentistry · 2025Article
- Understanding and predicting flossing behavior in a rural Appalachian community using the multi-theory model.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Using a Social Network Approach to Characterize Oral Health Behavior Social Support Among Mexican-Origin Young Adults.Journal of health communication · 2025Article
- The Effect of Proximal Cleaning Devices on Periodontal Status in Korean Adults between 2016 and 2018.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Oral health status of Korean adults with implants according to their use of oral hygiene products: results from a nationwide population-based study (2013-2015).Journal of periodontal & implant science · 2020Article
- Flossing Is Associated with Improved Oral Health in Older Adults.Journal of dental research · 2020Article
- Dental caries experience and socio-economic status among Iranian children: a multilevel analysis.BMC public health · 2019Article
- In Defense of Flossing: Part II-Can We Agree It's Premature to Claim Flossing Is Ineffective to Help Prevent Periodontal Diseases?The journal of evidence-based dental practice · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Current evidence pertaining to the effectiveness of flossing and caries prevention is potentially being misinterpreted by health oversight bodies, which may have significant implications for current and future public flossing guidelines. We identify and discuss several methodological deficiencies, including the lack of validated measures of flossing skill, over-reliance on self-reported flossing behavior, and the lack of current guidelines on how to interpret and apply evidence-based findings to specific clinical scenarios that are present in the studies of flossing effectiveness included in the Cochrane Review. As such, we argue that it is premature for health oversight bodies to conclude that flossing is ineffective in the prevention of dental caries. Our research group, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is developing a valid and reliable provider-observed measure of tooth brushing and flossing skill that may help promote higher quality flossing evidence in the future.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.