Keller @ Large: Flossing Is Good For You, Chew On That Researchers

BOSTON (CBS) - Don't you just love "scientific" studies? I'm using quotes because there are many studies that are careful and credible and apparently some that are not.

You know what I mean - you'll see a study that says eating a certain food is bad for you, then awhile later, another study says it's no problem.

But this latest news takes the cake.

A review of multiple studies by the Associated Press finds that the core advice dentists have been giving for the past century - that good dental health depends on regular flossing - isn't true after all! Now they claim flossing doesn't do much to fight plaque, that brushing alone is enough.

Excuse me for waxing indignant here, but are you kidding me?

I have a high level of confidence in my dentist and the other dental professionals I've dealt with over the years, and every last one of them has been a strong flossing advocate.

Unless you're some kind of freak of nature with perfect teeth that never get food caught between them, you know instinctively that flossing is a good thing. I don't care what the researchers claim, no toothbrush can clean out your choppers the way a good brisk flossing can.

And ask yourself - how many times have you found yourself using floss for non-dental purposes?

Replacing a broken belt, makeshift handcuffs during a citizen's arrest, or perhaps holding your car together after a minor fender-bender? How many engagements have been sealed with a strand of mint floss wrapped around her finger until the suitor can afford a real ring?

Yes, research is fine, but not all research is created equal.

Chew on that one, researchers.