“How regularly do you brush and floss your teeth?”
It’s likely that you’ve been asked this question at every dental care appointment with your dentist. Of course, your dentist wants you to follow the American Dental Association’s recommendation of brushing your teeth twice each day and using dental floss once each day.
For some reason many people don’t bother using dental floss. In fact, according to the Journal of the American Dental Association, only 10-40% of people actually report using dental floss on a daily basis, whereas nearly 100% of people report brushing their teeth twice per day to maintain dental and oral hygiene. This fact prompted a group of researchers to study the use of mouthwashes that contain an essential oil. They wanted to see if using the essential oil containing mouthwash would be effective at preventing the accumulation of plaque on the teeth.
The study was called “The efficacy of an essential oil antiseptic mouthrinse vs. dental floss in controlling interproximal gingivitis.”
The conclusion was that: “In conjunction with professional care (prophylaxis) and toothbrushing over six months, rinsing twice daily with an essential oil–containing mouthrinse was at least as good as flossing daily in reducing interproximal plaque and gingivitis.”
The entire study was published in the Journal of the American Dental Association, Vol 134, No 3, 359-365. You can read about the whole study by clicking on this link.