So i'm kind of skeptical of the effect.
Edit - I always wonder what kind of toothbrush other people use. I've always used electric ones so I wonder if that helps.
Like you, I have good teeth (never had a filling) and on average have visited the dentist about once every 10 years.
Like you I also used to never be able to get floss in between my teeth, but after a dental checkup some years back the dentist cleared all the plaque buildup and from then on getting the floss between my teeth was no problem, and I've been flossing regularly since.
Once the plaque builds up and hardens, it's very difficult to break it up with just floss and you'll have difficulty getting floss in.
For what it's worth, my teeth definitely feel cleaner after flossing, and if I miss a couple of days they start to feel dirty.
But now I have discovered floss tape; it's just what it sounds like, a thin strip of tape that you can slide between your teeth to floss. Now I can actually floss and it makes a big difference to how clean my teeth look and feel. I'm in the UK and the product I use is Oral-B Satin Tape - worth trying or finding an equivalent if you have teeth very close together.
I floss daily and sometimes twice a day. I keep floss at my desk at work and some mouthwash to kill some of germs that get stirred up. It is easy to fit that in when thinking through a problem.
I also take vitamin C twice a day. My dentists always comment on the good health of my gums and say "you take vitamin c don't you?" At 62 I want to maintain my gum and teeth health.
Amazing that people are wondering what the "scientific" value in getting food particles out of your mouth.
A few people are certainly "gifted" teeth-wise (I know another case), but not going to the dentist for 25 years would be disastrous if applied on large scale.
Well that's the problem, we don't have better evidence.
We actually have had it for quite a while. The CAMBRA MOOC is put together by a dentist/statistician and lays out a point system based on correlation between patient behaviors/health and carries. It has been iteratively corrected based on effective and ineffective results when modifying behavior according to the system.
Notably in that system, floss is not given a point. Whatever effect it may have is either too weak or better described by other factors flossing correlates with.
When points like that come up, the teacher stresses that the system is only measuring odds of near term carries, so flossing may be effective for something else with regards to oral health or preventing one of the negative factors.
Focusing on flossing itself, as person who started doing it regularly only as adult, I think that researching on how frequently one should floss (or not) is in a way like researching how frequently one should change underwear. It may make sense theoretically, but ultimately all it requires is just to pay attention.
I never noticed the bleeding and/or irritation of the gums (which dentists always mention) until I started flossing regularly.
Now I do feel a difference (as a matter of fact, I floss irregularly, depending on how the gums feel). Of course, I'm pretty sure I could survive without flossing at all.
This is in line with what dentists generally suggest. Given that flossing can be ultimately considered as simply extra cleaning, and that the presence (or not) of the effects can be easily observed, a couple of weeks of flossing should be enough for anybody to make a solid judgment more than any theory.
I did well, for a while, too. Then I had a lot of chemo. First year post, I had 14 cavities requiring fillings. Now I have 3 crowns.
Floss your teeth, preferably with a water pick. Older you will thank younger you.
Same here. Never understood how people can physically floss. Maybe those with undeveloped teeth can do it, others, I don't see how it's even possible.
For some teeth, I have to force it a little, my teeth are pretty close too. Its so worth it though: much better breath, clean feel, minimized risk of cavities.
Having a loop allows to have a firm hold on the floss and adjust tension. I use it with both hands though. And I waste very little floss because I can rotate the loop and use every inch of it.
Of course people's teeth are different. I know some prefer these, where you push it in from the side. http://www.tepe.com/uk/products/interdental-brushes/