As a dentist who has practiced throughout many cities in California, I have had the pleasure of interacting with various demographics. I have spent the majority of my career mainly practicing in Santa Monica. In my career I have come to notice that more and more of my patients are living longer, healthier and more independent lives.
I can easily say that at least once a week in my Santa Monica office, I come across a geriatric patient (who for the sake of this discussion we will identify as an individual over the age of 80) who comes in alone and seeks a check-up and cleaning. Very often, I notice that these independent patients are either taking very few or even no medications. They also commonly have most, if not all their teeth and continue to have healthy smiles. Clearly, this is impressive and it begs the question: “What is your secret?” Unanimously, my geriatric patients respond with: “FLOSSING.”
