Flossing before or after brushing, and looks versus health messages, made no clear difference

The study

1. 01

   Who took part

   118 adults from around London, in 56 households. About 65 were women and 53 were men, with an average age of about 36.

2. 02

   What they did

   Households were split by chance to floss before or after brushing, and to a leaflet on looks or on dental health. Everyone wrote a pledge naming when and where they would floss. Eighty people were also given vitamin C tablets and planning tips at the start.

3. 03

   What happened

   Flossing before or after brushing made no clear difference in how often people flossed or how automatic it felt. The looks and health leaflets made no clear difference either, and the paper's numbers don't add up. In the vitamin C group, enjoying the tablets went with a more automatic habit.

What the study found

1. No differenceHabits

   Flossing after brushing did not feel more automatic than flossing before it.

   • Rule: Anchor it to an old habittested
   • Rule: Write down when and whereused

   Randomised trial of 118 adults from around London · vs people who flossed before brushing · they rated themselves · ⚠ student thesis, not checked by other scientists; whole groups were assigned, not people; numbers unreliable

2. No differenceGoals

   Flossing before or after brushing made no difference to how often people flossed each week.

   • Rule: Anchor it to an old habittested
   • Rule: Write down when and whereused

   Randomised trial of 118 adults from around London · vs people who flossed before brushing · they rated themselves · ⚠ student thesis, not checked by other scientists; whole groups were assigned, not people; numbers unreliable

3. No differenceHabits

   Attraction leaflets did not make flossing feel more automatic than health leaflets.

   Randomised trial of 118 adults from around London · vs people who got the health leaflet · they rated themselves · ⚠ student thesis, not checked by other scientists; whole groups were assigned, not people; numbers unreliable

4. No comparisonHabits

   Liking vitamin C and doing it for its own sake went with a more automatic habit; beliefs did not.

   Randomised trial of 118 adults from around London · no comparison group · they rated themselves · ⚠ student thesis, not checked by other scientists; whole groups were assigned, not people; numbers unreliable

Source