Why You Should ALWAYS Floss Your Teeth

by WiredBerries Editors — January 3, 2008

First of all, you should floss for an obvious reason--it's just plain gross not too. You can always tell when someone doesn't floss regularly, and it's not pretty. But there's an even more important reason to floss--you'll live a lot longer!

It's amazing how much seemingly small habits can affect our health. Recent studies have made a direct connection between longevity and teeth flossing. Who knew such a seemingly little thing could make such a big difference? In the book, " Real Age " by Michael F. Roizen, MD, Dr. Roizen calculates how old a person really is, not just in years but by taking into account a person's lifestyle, eating habits, and fitness level. According to Roizen, daily flossing can add 6.3 years to your life. That's a long time!

He writes, "These studies show that the presence of periodontal diseases, diseases most common in people with tooth loss, actually affects longevity. The best of these studies done at Emory University with the Centers for Disease Control, indicated that people with gingivitis and periodontitis have a mortality rate that is 23 percent to 46 percent higher than those who don't. Skipping the floss is linked to increased rates of cardiovascular disease and stroke as well as to an increase in mortality from other causes, such as infections." At the very least, flossing will help ensure that you get to keep your real teeth, rather than having to deal with dentures down the road.