It seems like simple, obvious advice:Eat your vegetables, get some exercise, andof coursefloss.Or not.Turns out that despite being recommended by numerous scientists and universities, the effectiveness of flossing has never been researched, according to a new report from the Associated Press.The US government has recommended flossing for nearly four decades. But according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a set of recommendations the agency sends out every five years, all of the recommendations have to be grounded in scientific evidence.And flossing is, well, not.In its report, published Tuesday, the Associated Press says that it used the Freedom of Information Act torequest evidence for the benefits of flossing fromthe departments of Health and Human Services. AP never received that evidence. Instead, it got a letter from the government acknowledging that the effectiveness offlossinghad never been studied.So theAP took a look at more than 25 studies comparing conventional brushing alone against brushing plus flossing. They found little to noevidence in favor of flossing.Read the full Associated Press report.That comes in sharp contrast to recommendations from basically every major dental hygiene organization, including theAmerican Dental Association and the American Academy of Periodontology. Flossing is stillconsidered socrucial to healththat it'sincluded in oneof the questions in the Living to 100 Life Expectancy Calculator, a tool that uses metrics like diet and exercise to determine your approximate life expectancy.Many experts say thatnot flossing letsplaque, the thin film of bacteria that clings to teeth and builds up duringthe day, to becometartar, a hard deposit that can irritate gums. Thattartar buildup can, in turn, cause the gums to recede. Worse, it could create a gapbetween the gum and the tooth, whichcould getinfected and lead to gum disease.Numerousreports have linked gum disease to a host of other diseases, including kidney disease, diabetes, and heart disease. Still, no research has concluded that one causes the otheronly that there is some kind of relationship between the two.A 2013 study in the journal CardioRenal Medicine, for example, found that peoplesuffering from chronic kidney diseaseand gum diseasewere more likely to die of heartdisease, a leading cause of death among those with kidney problems.The study was unable to pinpoint the precise rolegum disease might play in deaths fromheart disease, but the researchers nonetheless recommended taking steps to cut back ongum diseasein these patients.Peoplewith diabetes have also been found to beat a higher risk of developing gum disease, and people with gum disease have similarly been found to be more likely to develop diabetes. A 2012 study in the journal Diabetologiasuggests that there is evidence supporting the existence of a two-way relationship between the two, but couldn't ultimately conclude that that was the case.So for now, the topic remains heated. To floss, or not to floss' It remains a question.READ MORE:11 surprising things your physical appearance says about youSEE ALSO:You've been breathing ' yes, breathing ' all wrongJoin the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: You've probably been flossing all wrong ' here's the right way to do it
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