/oss/taxonomy/term/1044/all en /oss/article/health/great-floss-debate-or-when-science-and-common-sense-collide <p>Dental patients around the globe were ecstatic following a 2016 Associated Press article disputing the merits of flossing in preventing cavities and gum disease. No more shaming during routine dental appointments. ‘Toss your floss’ parties became all the rage. Conversely, dentists were appalled, having long professed the importance of flossing. So what to make of this egregious finding? Could toilet paper be next?</p> Mon, 17 Feb 2020 18:43:00 +0000 Mark Grossman BSc, DDS, Contributor 8120 at /oss /oss/article/health/dental-floss-toxic <p>A recently published paper in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology managed to create a great deal of public angst about using some types of dental floss. “This is the first study to show that using dental floss containing PFAS is associated with a higher body burden of these toxic chemicals,” opined lead author Katie Boronow of the non-profit Silent Spring Institute in Massachusetts.</p> Fri, 18 Jan 2019 17:00:00 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7542 at /oss /oss/article/food-health/perils-inflammation <p style="text-align:justify"><a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/?p=5374"><img alt="floss2" height="150" src="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/files/2013/05/floss2-150x150.jpg" width="150" /></a>A couple of years ago the Montreal Gazette had a stunning headline: “Floss or Die!” it screamed on the front page. Another sensationalized piece of journalism, I thought. Not flossing may make you lose your teeth alright, but your life? Then as I started to read the story, I realized that while the headline may have been a little over the top, there was an issue here. An issue of inflammation. If the gums are not in good shape they become swollen and red and bleed easily. This means that there is now an entry for bacteria that live in the mouth into the bloodstream which means that they can spread around the body. If they lodge in a coronary artery, they trigger immune activity and inflammation there, which in turn can cause cholesterol filled plaque to rupture. A blood clot then forms, the flow of blood is choked off and a heart attack ensues.</p> <p style="text-align:justify">That “Floss or Die” article was a harbinger of things to come. Inflammation research is now all over the news. You can rest assured that if Time magazine does a cover story on it, it’s big stuff. We may now be able to explain why it is that half of all people who have heart attacks have normal cholesterol levels. Severe inflammation may make even normal cholesterol dangerous. And this story is going to get bigger. Because it now seems that many other diseases, maybe even Alzheimer’s are related to chronic inflammation. How do we know whether we are suffering from low level chronic inflammation? <a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/2013/05/29/the-perils-of-inflammation">Read more</a></p> Thu, 30 May 2013 01:00:17 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1950 at /oss