I’m heading out to the dentist today, for some awesome dental work, which I thoroughly enjoy. Wish I could go more often. Anyway, thought this would be a good time to talk about flossing. When I was in college, one of my jobs was working at a hospital as an admitting clerk. I met a lot of interesting people there, one of them, a fellow admitting clerk who was twice my age. Boy did I think she was old. I remember her asking me if I wanted to live a long time. She was a little strange and I was curious to see where she was going with this. I said, “Yes, I would.” And she said, “Floss.” To which I responded, “Huh?” She told me that people who floss regularly live longer and that gum health determines your overall health when you get older. I thought that could be a really good point and I did want to live a long time, so I started to floss. Of course, recent studies have shown that the state of your gums directly affects the state of your heart. And if your gums aren’t healthy, there’s a pretty good chance your heart and arteries aren’t either. That woman from the hospital was kind of strange, but she was right.

http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/oral-care/products/5-reasons-flossing-is-important.htm

Word to the wise: Pick a time every day, morning or night and floss. I floss in the morning, because I don’t like to do anything more than I have to before I go to bed at night. Here’s to both of us living longer.

What do you think? Have any insights about flossing? Do you or don’t you?Note: Your comments may be published anonymously in the upcoming book, “Wise Before 25, 101 Things Young Women Should Know.”