But one thing that is clear is that oral health is very important. I've noticed that when I brush around midday, I'm in a much better mood. But don't take my word for it -- numerous studies have established co-incidence between heart disease, mortality, and inflammation and bad oral health. And there are good reasons to believe it is not simply an issue of correlation without causation as local even mild infection can cause many downstream effects throughout the body. And anyways, it's just so much better to have a clean mouth.
It is unwise to extrapolate from your personal experience. Especially when there is plenty of research available on the effect of flossing on one's dental health.
I never used to floss, and would regularly have cavities to deal with (pretty much every visit to the dentist). When I started flossing religiously that ceased. I've had one filling (and that for a tooth cracked when I accidentally bit down on something hard) in the last decade.
For me, there's a pretty clear benefit to flossing. I imagine there's a lot of variation in its usefulness, depending on things like diet, mouth shape & size, what kinds of bacteria you host, etc.
The author was using flossing as a metaphor for a common oversight: just because things are one way today doesn't mean they'll always be. Well, duh. Yet, we all forget it. It's the same reason that investment advice is given with the caveat that past performance is not to be used as a determinant of future results.
I disagree with the author's approach though. I've also never had a cavity in my life. Just turned 36 today. I also have excellent gum health. I floss, at most, once a month. The difference between my experience and the authors is that I continue to go to the dentist every 6 months.
My dental health is fine without flossing, so why should I floss? The author's contention is that this could change at any time. I agree, which is why I get regular dental check-ups. The assertion that I should floss anyway is just acceptance of dogma. I don't buy it. The important part, in my view, is that you always keep an eye on conditions. At the first sign of change, I will adapt my routine to accommodate.
Moral of the story: get to know your own teeth well and take care of them in the way that's best for you. You might not even realize how much food is constantly stuck between your teeth, if you never used an interdental brush. Flossing is complementary to them.
One DH told me that toothpicks are better.
Don't skip flossing just because you haven't had a bunch of cavities. Your teeth may be special, but is your heart?
I ask because Wikipedia[0] believes that the theory is still quite "out there" but I'd be happy to learn from more up to date/reliable sources.
My personal anecdote: last time when I went to the dentist, for the first time in ~10 years, because a tiny bit of a tooth broke off while trying to strip a piece of wire with my mouth (yes I know that's bad), I expected my teeth to be in horrible shape. Dentist fixed my tooth and did a full check-up including X-rays, and as it turns out, my teeth where in near-perfect condition, no cavities or other bad spots, just some dental plaque that needed to be removed. I haven't flossed a single time in my 30+ years long life.
Moral of the story: flossing probably has nothing to do with dental health, as long as you brush your teeth and don't eat a lot of sugar.