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As a dental hygienist in general practice for 18 years, I've spent many hours sitting on my stool trying to think of new ways to motivate patients, especially those troublesome ones I've seen for years but whose compliance with oral hygiene advice is sporadic to say the least!
One February, I was giving one of my patients a common spiel….” just try it for a month, if you can make yourself do it for a month you will see and feel a difference…just do it for the whole of February” I looked at my nurse and giggled “Flossuary!!”
This idea amused me (if only for the fact that I'd invented a new word!) and I began mentioning Flossuary to a few other patients, mainly as a way of trying to motivate them. This also gave me a great platform to start talking to patients about reasons to clean between their teeth that they may not be aware of.
We all talk about the need for good oral hygiene to prevent tooth loss and this is widely accepted among many patients…. but are patients equally as aware of the growing evidence that our periodontal health is linked to a number of serious systemic health conditions?
The more I talked about Flossuary, the more people I found who were unaware of these links. I was surprised to find many diagnosed diabetic patients who were blissfully unaware of the impact that periodontal disease could have on their glycaemic control (and vice versa).
So Flossuary was born! I created a pack containing interdental cleaning instruction, information on why it's important and a 28-day tick chart for motivation. We gave these out to patients we felt would benefit in the practice.
Over the next 3 years, I ran Flossuary in my practice, each year circulating more packs and adding samples of interdental cleaning aids kindly donated by various product companies. In 2020, I negotiated a small amount of sponsorship allowing me to build a website (www.flossuary.com) so participants could sign up online and receive packs by post. Flossuary 2021 was trialled on a national scale. Feedback was really positive with 84% of participants competing the challenge. Clinicians also found it a simple way to give detailed oral hygiene instruction with limited appointment time. Many practices took part in the challenge themselves and posted it on their social media pages.
My vision for Flossuary is to reach everyone with the valuable knowledge that we try to drum into our patients daily, not for it to be confined to those who visit a dental practice. There is confusion over products and how to use them, but perhaps more importantly, a lack of understanding of just how important periodontal health may be to systemic wellbeing so I'm delighted that Flossuary 2022 is being trialled in the diabetes department of a Midlands hospital.
I would like to appeal to my fellow dental professionals to get involved with Flossuary 2022. Please have a look at the website. By registering as a health professional there, you can access the leaflet and tick chart that the patient receives and download posters if you want them. Then simply invite your patients to sign up at flossuary.com during the month of January to receive their FREE Flossuary pack and product samples in the post, ready for the 1st of Flossuary! Participants can follow motivational posts on social media throughout the month of February. The support received from dental professionals last year was incredible, please help us to make Flossuary 2022 even better! I always welcome any questions or comments so please get in touch via enquiries@flossuary.com