Now that the People’s Army of Proper Dental Practices has emerged victorious in the Port Angeles fluoridation debate, I hope they will regard their success not as an end but as a beginning.
Specifically, the use of the devil’s own tool — dental floss — needs to be addressed if we are ever going to “make Port Angeles great again.”
This action is needed for two primary reasons.
First, I can with great confidence state that no studies can be cited that show the use of dental floss promotes healthier teeth or gums — at least no studies that I am either prepared to read or accept as scientifically sound.
The second reason, however, may be of even greater importance.
Even if one were to acknowledge that removing food stuck between teeth may be a healthy practice, we all know that wooden toothpicks are a much better tool for performing this task.
Being located in logging country increases the urgency of this issue locally.
How many logging industry jobs have been lost due to people’s use of dental floss in place of biodegradable toothpicks?
The question needs to be asked: Are the good people of Port Angeles prepared to continue to support these losses?
Yes, the course is clear.
The People’s Army of Proper Dental Practices should now act to save local jobs by mounting a new campaign — namely, to bar the sale and use of dental floss within the Port Angeles city limits.
Paul D. Ericksen,
Port Angeles
