For years and years, we and other dentists have been drilling into not only your teeth, but your heads, that flossing is one of the most important steps of your morning or nightly routines. That flossing is crucial in the prevention of gingivitis and gum disease. That if you don’t floss every single day of your life, all of your teeth will fall out by the age of 30!!! Whatever you heard, one thing was certain: flossing was just as important as brushing your teeth… which might not be as true as we once believed.

You may have heard about all the hubbub late last year: flossing might be ineffective. It started out when the Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services did not mention flossing in one of their reports on dietary guidelines for Americans. A short time after that, the Associated Press released an article called, “Medical benefits of dental floss unproven” in which it suggested that there is only weak evidence for flossing’s effectiveness. (more…)

You may or may not have heard about what a catechin is, but it is an antioxidant that is well known for its dietary and health benefits. It’s found in a variety of forms (dark chocolate, red wine, açaí berries, pomegranates, goji berries, blackberries, broccoli & spinach), but the highest concentration of catechins are found in green and matcha green tea.

We have talked about the benefits of tea previously, but are going to specifically talk about the benefits of catechins and their overall health benefits. (more…)