Interdental cleaning is not a favourite activity for most patients. Furthermore, based on a survey of 2000 representative Americans, it was found that almost a third of patients lie to their dentist when asked about their teeth-cleaning habits and, in particular, about the use of dental floss. Having said that, it is our responsibility to recommend the best tool for effective interdental cleaning for each of our patients – in terms of effective plaque removal, but also in terms of long-term compliance.

According to the recently published S3 guidelines about treating patients with stage I–III periodontitis (Sanz 2020), the current evidence-based recommendation is to perform subgingival debridement as part of non-surgical periodontal treatment with hand instruments and/or (ultra)sound devices. But of course, the search continues to find options that will further improve the outcome of non-surgical periodontal treatment.

We are used to telling our patients, ‘Clean your teeth twice daily!’. But where does this idea come from, and is it really necessary to brush twice daily? What would happen if we only brushed our teeth once every two days?