Routine dental X-rays are not backed by evidence

Isn't flossing not supported by science also, but all the news articles said you should keep flossing?

Yes, flossing cannot be proven to help. But it cannot be proven to hurt, either, so current recommendations are to do it anyway.

>But it cannot be proven to hurt, either, so current recommendations are to do it anyway.

That's not a meaningful standard for any health intervention. If I'd apply everything to my body that wasn't proven to hurt I'd spend a hundred bucks every morning and two hours in the bathroom. If "it doesn't hurt" was sufficient basis for a recommendation our doctors would tell us to swallow homeopathic medicine every morning.

It seems pretty obvious that anything you apply has to have at least some measurable impact, otherwise you're basically in the same category as the supplement industry.

I'm inclined to believe that preventing food particles from rotting between my teeth is a measurable impact in itself, regardless of whether it directly impacts my health.

Your assumption is that the floss is removing something that brushing does not. Ask your dentist why you should floss and the answer is not removing occasional lodged pieces of food from between your teeth, but cleaning under the gum line. There is no evidence to suggest it works that way, this is what the long term studies have determined.

So by that rationale, after a thorough brush, flossing would never remove anything?