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Undertoad · 08-04-2001, 10:53 AM

It's important to floss, and important to set world records. So this week a group of 307 people set the world record for Most People Flossing Simultaneously, with a single strand of floss 1,300 feet long.

Now, I have this Public Service Announcement. I do not floss, as I consider it to be roughly as irritating an activity as pouring sand into your eye. However, my dental hygenist routinely reports that the State of My Gums is in the top 5%. I have achieved this by brushing without toothpaste. Once a day at most.

Y'see, I run my life by assuming that everything we know is wrong. Toothpaste is a fine polish, with tiny bits of grit to help rough away the crap on your teeth. It's similar to Comet. It's an abrasive cleanser. So it helps to get the stuff off your teeth, but to the plaque that accumulates under the gum, toothpaste acts as a lubricant. So if you brush without it, with just water, firmly enough to be effective without doing damage, you can get that crap outta there without flossing. The brush strokes have to be such that the bristles can get under the gum, but it's not hard to do at all.

Hope this helps. End of PSA.

08-04-2001, 10:53 AM	#1
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	8/4: Flossing world record It's important to floss, and important to set world records. So this week a group of 307 people set the world record for Most People Flossing Simultaneously, with a single strand of floss 1,300 feet long. Now, I have this Public Service Announcement. I do not floss, as I consider it to be roughly as irritating an activity as pouring sand into your eye. However, my dental hygenist routinely reports that the State of My Gums is in the top 5%. I have achieved this by brushing without toothpaste. Once a day at most. Y'see, I run my life by assuming that everything we know is wrong. Toothpaste is a fine polish, with tiny bits of grit to help rough away the crap on your teeth. It's similar to Comet. It's an abrasive cleanser. So it helps to get the stuff off your teeth, but to the plaque that accumulates under the gum, toothpaste acts as a lubricant. So if you brush without it, with just water, firmly enough to be effective without doing damage, you can get that crap outta there without flossing. The brush strokes have to be such that the bristles can get under the gum, but it's not hard to do at all. Hope this helps. End of PSA.