The Flossing Question
by Bob · 18 June 2026 · Biography & Memoir
The most common lie at the dentist: yes, I floss daily. Bob developed a polite alternative to "lying." Best excuse: it feels like giving in. He couldn't entirely disagree. His wife says he should have been more compassionate. Probably. But after so many preventable mouths something stops giving people the benefit of the doubt.
There is one question in dentistry that patients lie about more consistently than any other: do you floss regularly? In thirty-five years I heard "yes" from people whose gums told a completely different story. I developed a polite way of saying: the clinical picture suggests otherwise, which people appreciated in the sense that they knew I knew and they knew I knew they knew, and we could move on without anyone having to say the word "lying."
What I found more interesting was the variety of excuses once the pretence was dropped. Not enough time was the most common. Forgot was second. I once had a patient who said he found flossing philosophically troubling. I asked him to elaborate. He said: it feels like giving in. I thought about that for longer than was probably appropriate. I didn't argue with him. I couldn't entirely.
My wife says I should have been more compassionate about it over the years. She's probably right. But there are only so many mouths that could have been fixed with two minutes a day before something in you stops giving people the benefit of the doubt.
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