Nordkirchen, March 20, 2009



Is dental floss really a "care flop", as a women's magazine claims in its cover story? This is the subject of the current issue

(No. 4/2009) of the scientific information service "Zahnmedizin Report". The publication of the IWW Institute, Nordkirchen, comes to the conclusion that dental floss remains a dental recommendation.



The magazine "feminin & fit" cited a literature study and came to the conclusion that dental floss neither prevents tooth decay nor gum or other diseases.

diseases. "This message is false and is the result of a series of increasingly simplistic and misleading citations. The dental flossing recommendation, combined with motivational measures and demonstrations, does not change anything!" explains Prof. Ulrich Schiffner from the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. In the current issue of the scientific information service "Zahnmedizin Report", he explains how the design of medical studies, incorrect interpretations of the underlying publication and a citation sequence reminiscent of the children's game "Silent Mail" can lead to scientific studies being misunderstood.



How does such a report come about? In this case, a literature search was carried out in English-language databases (P. P. Hujoel, J. Cunha-Cruz, D.W. Banting, W.J. Loesche: Dental flossing and interproximal caries: a systematic review. J Dent Res 85, 298-305 (2006)). The search initially revealed 143 clinical studies on the use of dental floss. However, due to the previously defined inclusion criteria, the entire literature analysis is based on only six studies. These were conducted on 808 children aged 4 to 13 years.



In a communication from the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWIG), it states with reference to this literature review: "No studies were found on the effectiveness of flossing in adults and on the prevention of other problems such as gum disease". This is formally true, but in accordance with the inclusion conditions of the literature search, no studies with adults were identified and no statements about "gum disease" were sought. However, this interpretation is the core statement of the article that has now appeared in the lay press.



IWW Institut für Wirtschaftspublizistik (IWW): The IWW Institute is the market leader for ad-free business and tax information services aimed at professional target groups such as doctors, dentists, tax consultants, lawyers and entrepreneurs (B2B). The IWW Institute publishes 60 information services, offers 10 online information services and organizes over 250 seminars and congresses every year. As an independently operating company, it belongs to Vogel Business Media.



If you have any queries or would like a copy, please contact

Heike Mareck

IWW Institute for Business Journalism

Phone +49 2596 922 0

E-mail: mareck@iww.de