Would patients rather learn about oral health from a singing dentist or a shocking advert?

Very few of us enjoy being told what to do, or think, or how to behave. Let's face it, we all spend much of our time following rules and taking orders and nowhere more do we hear the cries of a so-called ‘nanny state’ than when us health professionals kick off about bad oral hygiene habits and dental health risks. Last month's #flossgate certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons within the world of dentistry, with an investigation by the Associated Press in the US suggesting there is no definitive evidence that flossing prevents dental caries or gum disease. This analysis of various studies stirred up much debate in the media. The investigation looked at the most rigorous research of the past decade with 25 studies in leading journals finding evidence for flossing ‘weak, very unreliable’, of ‘very low quality’, and carries ‘a moderate to large potential for bias’.