Flossing behaviour in English adolescents

The aim of this study was to investigate the relation between flossing behaviour and other health, cleanliness and social behaviours in adolescents. Data from a survey of 41142, 12-16-year-old children from 244 secondary schools throughout England were analysed to obtain information about flossing frequency, dental attendance and recalled advice about flossing, and some general cleanliness and social behaviours. Subjects completed a questionnaire, anonymously, in class during normal school hours. Flossing frequency was found to change with age, its use becoming less frequent from age 12 through age 16 years. There was a significant relationship between flossing frequency and the time since the last dental attendance, the more recent attenders flossing more frequently. 6% of subjects recalled receiving advice about flossing at their last dental attendance and higher proportions of those who used floss recalled such advice, compared with non-flossers. Flossing frequency was also found to correlate positively with frequencies of washing hands after visiting the lavatory and bathing, and having a current friend of the opposite gender. There was only a small association between smoking habit and flossing, and only in school years 8 and 10: subjects most committed to smoking used floss slightly more frequently than those who did not smoke. Factor analysis showed evidence of gender differences in perceptions of flossing. Males equated use of floss with health-related behaviours while females associated flossing more with cleanliness behaviours. This finding is consistent with gender differences in toothbrushing behaviour reported in previous studies. The present study provides further insights into the history of dental flossing.