"Remember to floss your teeth," dentists say, but many of us forget their advice. Not only that, we don't understand why we're supposed to floss our teeth. We don't know that failing to floss leads to a dental domino effect: tartar, plaque, gingivitis, periodontitis, and teeth falling out. Yikes!

Accordng to a recent Harris Poll of 1,000 adults 35 years old and older, 60% of those surveyed knew little about gum disease. You may not know much about gum disease or even care about it. Many of us put flossing at the bottom of our "To Do" list. Here are eight reasons to put flossing at the top.

1. Flossing helps you to clean back teeth that are hard to reach, the areas between your teeth and under your gum line. (www.floss.com/flossing.htm, "Flossing: A New Secret to Good Health?")

2. Regular flossing helps to dislodge the 500 kinds of bacteria that thrive in your mouth. (www.MayoClinic.com, "Oral Health and Overall Health: Why a Healthy Mouth is Good for Your Body")

3. Tartar, a major cause of bad breath and cavities, can start to build up in only 24 hours. Flossing, combined with professional cleaning, helps to keep these things from happening. (US Food and Drug Administration, "Fighting Gum Disease: How to Keep Your Teeth")

4. Flossing helps to prevent plaque (bacteria) build-up in your mouth. (www.MayoClinic.com, "Oral Health and Overall Health: Why a Healthy Mouth is good for Your Body")

5. Regular flossing helps to prevent gingivitis, an inflamation of the gums that causes them to bleed, swell, and turn red or redish-purple. (www.MedlinePlus, "Gingivitis")

6. Untreated gingivitis can develop into periodontitis, a condition that causes your gums to pull away from your teeth. Flossing helps to prevent this from happening. (US Food and Drug Administration, "Fighting Gum Disease: How to Keep Your Teeth")

7. New research findings suggest that regular flossing helps to prevent heart disease. "Researchers have found that people with periodontal disease are almost twice as likely to suffer from coronary artery disease as those without periodontal disease." (American Academy of Periodontology, www.perio.org/consumer.mbc.heart.htm, "Heart Disease and Stroke")

8. Daily flossing helps you to keep your teeth and your smile. (US Food and Drug Adinistration, "Fighting Gum Disease: How to Keep Your Teeth")

Tape this list to your bathroom mirror, read it every day, and floss your teeth. Dentists recommend flossing after every meal. You're the boss so get your kids to floss. Then everyone in the family can have a happy smile.

Copyright 2006 by Harriet Hodgson

Harriet Hodgson

Harriet Hodgson has been a nonfiction writer for 27 years. She is a member of the Association of Healh Care Journalists and the Association for Death Education and Counseling. A prolific writer, she is the author of 25 published books and hundreds of print and electronic articles.

Hodgson has written about parenting, recycling, sexual harassment, aging, Alzheimer's disease, caregiving, communication, nutrition, physical activity, weight management, anticipatory grief, and many other topics.

She started out as a teacher and earned a B.S. with honors from Wheelock College in Boston, MA. She went on to earn an M.A. in Art Education from the University of Minnesota and did additional graduate work. After spending a dozen years in the classroom Hodgson changed careers and turned to writing.

All of her writing comes from life experience. Hodgson has talked about her experienes on some 150 radio talk shows, including CBS Radio, Minnesota Public Radio, WCCO Radio and "Coping With Caregiving," an Internet-only radio program broadcast worldwide. In addition, she has appeared on dozens of television programs/stations including CNN.

Hodgson is a Past President of the Wing of the Aerospace Medical Association. A past president of the Minnesota Medical Association Alliance (MMAA), she represented MMAA members on the Minnesota Medical Association Health Care Reform Task Force. She is an active community volunteer and all of her volunteer efforts focus on health.

Hodgson is cited in "Something About the Author," "Who's Who of American Women," "Who's Who in America," "Who's Who in the World," "The Dictionary of International Biography," and "Contemporary Authors," published by Gale Research.

Hodgson lives in Rochester, Minnesota with her husband, C. John Hodgson. She enjoys learning, travel, antiques, singing, and spending time with her twin grandchildren.

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