My
Resistance To Flossing Properly: Why I Know I
Should Floss Regularly, But Still Don't
Table of Contents
Introduction
Library Research
Getting Started
Why I Don't Floss
Why I Should Floss
Observations
Summary of My Behavior Observation
Research
Method of Dental Flossing
Dental Caries
Insights into Flossing
Self Examination
Strategies For Change
Evaluation
Summary
Afterthought
Glossary
Method of Dental Flossing
Dental Caries
Insights into Flossing
Self Examination
References
Introduction
The topic I decided to do my term paper on for Social Psychology is My
Resistance to Flossing. We had a choice of doing either this or Resistance to
Driving. Since I do not have a license and consequently, do not drive, I figure
it would be pretty difficult to write a term paper on driving. Anyway, I know
I have a bad habit of not brushing right and not flossing so this topic can
only be beneficial to me. My dentist keeps telling me to floss my teeth every
night but somehow I never listen. Maybe this paper will eventually inspire me
to floss regularly and properly.
MY Library Research
I kept telling myself that I had to go to the library to look for information,
but somehow, I always found something else better to do. So the weeks went by
and still I had nothing to work with on flossing. I am struggling in my other
classes and that combined with work and my involvement in a Marketing
Fraternity left me little time to even visit the library. Finally I decided
that it was either do or die so I went to Hamilton Library to try to find some
useful books either on Dental Hygiene or on Social Psychological Behavior. I
remembered looking up some sociology books for another class once before so I
decided to check there first. I went to the HN section and found several good
books on behaviors and social learning and change. I picked out a couple good
ones which I thought would apply to my topic. Then I had to look for some books
on oral hygiene and dentistry. Since I have a hard time understanding how the
OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog) works and got very confused when I tried to
use it an earlier time, I decided to look in the card catalog first. I found
books on dentistry and hygiene in the RK section located on the third floor. I
think quite a few people are doing their paper on flossing because there
weren't too many books that pertained to my topic. Still, I managed to find two
good books which I found both helpful and not too difficult to read.
After all this searching I was really exhausted and I had to go to class
anyway so I decided to stick with what I had for now and check at home to see
1f I had any books that might be helpful. I dug up my books from previous
Psychology classes, my Sociology book and also my Interpersonal relations book.
At last I seemed to have a substantial amount of resources to complete my
necessary research.
Getting Started
To start off I first tried to think of all the reasons why I did not like to
floss. I then came up with reasons why I should floss. Here are the two
lists...
Why I Don't Floss
I am lazy.
I am not in the mood.
Sometimes it hurts when I do it.
There's no more floss left.
It takes too much time.
I don't enjoy doing lt.
It is difficult for me to do properly.
Why I should floss
My dentist told me too.
I should take care of my teeth since I spent so much
money on braces to make them look good.
It will take away plaque build up.
It will prevent gum disease.
It will keep my breath fresher.
It will preserve my teeth so they don't fall out when I'm older.
It will improve my smile.
It will make me feel better about myself.
It will allow me to eat more with out too much worry.
After compiling these two lists I decided on the best way to monitor my
behavior towards flossing. I decided to conduct an experiment in which I would
change my behavior for one week. I decided that for one week between October 19
through October 24 I would floss every night before brushing my teeth. This was
a good time since we just bought some Halloween candy and I had been eating
alot of it. Trying to floss this week will cut down on the chances of me
getting cavities. I also hoped that by some miracle I would pick up the habit
and continue to floss nightly going into the holidays. I decided that I would
reward myself with a candy if I flossed the night before and punish myself by
not eating any candy the next day if I failed to floss my teeth the night
before. The independent variable in this experiment would be my mood, and the
dependent variable was whether or not I flossed my teeth. My hypothesis was
that If I was 1n a good mood and felt relaxed, then I would floss my teeth,
otherwise I would probably skip lt.
October 19, 1987
Today starts my week of observation. Pretty soon I am going to brush my teeth
and I know I have to floss yet. Oh boy, I guess I better get it over with even
though I really don't feel like it. Well, I just got through with flossing and
brushing my teeth. Now I get to eat a candy tomorrow. I can't believe how long
it took me to floss getting frustrated. But since this is just my first time I
decided to not give up until I did my entire mouth. My gums are hurting now and
they are still a little tender. They started bleeding and the taste of blood
was making me sick.I felt even sicker when I had to brush my teeth and there
was blood all in my mouth. I don't know if I can go through with this for the
whole week. Not only is it going to take me forever, but it is also causing me
much pain and discomfort. Right now my attitude towards flossing is rather
negative.
October 20, 1987
I just finished brushing my teeth and I didn't floss. Actually, I started to
do the front teeth, but then I just gave up. I had a really hard day and I just
want to go to bed. I didn't feel like taking up all that time just to floss my
teeth. Now I feel guilty because I did not floss my teeth, but I'm just too
exhausted to care. I guess I won't eat any candy tomorrow. I don't know if I
can handle not eating candy for a day. I know, I should of thought of this
before I brushed my teeth. I can still go back and floss it anyway but I might
as well just wait until tomorrow. I know I am just making up excuses for my not
flossing but that's okay, I still have the rest of the week. This experiment
with flossing seems to only be causing me anxiety and pain. I already have so
much stress in my life and now I have to deal with flossing too.
October 21, 1987
Hurray, I remembered to floss and this time it didn't take me as long either.
My gums still bleed, which 1 think is utterly gross, especially when I have to
brush my teeth after. I feel really good about myself though. One of the
reasons I made it a point to floss was that I died today not eating any candy.
So many times I found myself reaching for a snack at work then I had to stop
myself because I'm being punished for not flossing last night. I'm surprised
that I spent the time to floss tonight considering what time it is, it's now
12:30 a.m. I've been at school till 5:30 p.m. and then I was at Junior
Achievement until 9:30 p.m. So now I'm really proud of myself for flossing even
though I am extremely tired.
October 22, 1987
I remembered to floss again tonight. After being able to eat candy today I
wanted to make sure I didn't miss eating it tomorrow. I still think that it
takes up too much time but at least I'm helping myself to keep my mouth in
healthy shape. My gums still bleed a liitle, but I'm not as bothered by the
blood anymore either. I guess I'm getting used to the feeling of flossing my
teeth. After brushing my teeth I feel like my whole mouth is fresher and
cleaner. Maybe if I get good at flossing every night I can begin to floss after
every meal. Oh no, I think I'm beginning to dream. After just two days of
flossing I think I can floss all the time, even after every meal. Who am I
kidding don't really enjoy doing this. In fact, I'm probably only flossing
because I can't eat candy if I don't. I think it's just because I'm in a good
mood today. This will be the first night that I will get a good nights rest and
that I didn't have anything stressful happen to me today. I hope tomorrow goes
just as good so that I will be inspired to floss my teeth again.
October 24, 1987
Last night I didn't floss my teeth, but I think I have a valid reason. Or is
there such a thing as a valid reason for not flossing??? My friends called me
to go out on Friday night and we didn't get home till 3:00 a.m. Naturally, I
was so tired and sleepy that I just brushed my teeth really fast and went to
bed. When I woke up this morning I remembered that I didn't floss the night
before and felt bad. But there's no way I would've taken the time to floss my
teeth at 4:30 a.m. in the morning. That was the very last thing on my mind when
I got home this morning. In fact, I don't even feel bad anymore, even though I
can't eat any candy today.
October 25, 1987
Last night was the final night of my observation period. Of course I
remembered to floss my teeth. I was in a pretty average mood so I guess I just
flossed for the heck of it. Probably because it was the last day and I wanted
to give it my all. I took extra care in flossing my entire mouth, and I really
tried to do it carefully so that my gums wouldn't bleed too much. Now I feel
pretty happy with myself for flossing last night and doing the best job I ever
did. I hope I can continue to floss my teeth every night, or shall I say almost
every night.
Summary of My Behavior Observations
Affective Data
"I'm feeling really tired tonight"
"I'm happy with myself"
"I hope to floss regularly"
"I feel very frustrated with myself"
"My goal is to floss every night before brushing"
"I'm not in a good mood today"
Cognitive Data
"I'm too tired to floss"
"I really don't have time now"
"It's so late already"
"I probably flossed just so I could eat candy tomorrow"
"I know this is only for my own good"
Sensory Motor Data
"I hate the taste of blood"
"Brushing my teeth with blood made me sick"
"It's taking me long because it's difficult"
"I didn't take as long tonight"
"I didn't see as much blood tonight"
"My mouth is sore and sensitive"
These are just a sample of some of the thoughts that
went through my mind during, before, or after flossing. I
tried to categorize them into the three categories of beha-
vior, Affective, Cognitive, and Sensory Motor, so that I can
better understand them.
Research
This part of my paper will include research that I
found in my books about dental health or changing my behavior my flossing.
Method of Dental Flossing
According to dental experts, if dental floss is skillfully and frequently
used, the approximal surfaces may be kept quite free from dental caries, i.e.
plaque. To insert floss through the contact area, hold a 12" strand between
thumbs and forefingers, with digits about 1" apart, then press the strand
against the facial aspect of the contact and gently pull floss toward lingual
surfaces. As soon as the floss clears contact, release tension of grasp, then
adapt the strand to work floss apical along the tooth surface until the depth
of the sulcus is reached, then back
Several precautions must be observed to avoid lacerating soft tissue: use a
short grasp to maintain control as floss is activated; do not "snap" floss
through the contact and onto the interdental papilla; avoid pulling strand
against interdental papilla as strand is moved from one proximal surface to the
other.(Steele, 1966, P.112)
Dental Caries
Dental caries, or as more commonly known, tooth decay, is a disease which is
practically universal in distribution. Dental carles always has its inception
upon the external or exposed surface of a tooth; it never arises from within
the tooth. Dr. W. D. Mlller found that the destruction of the hard structures
of the tooth by dental accomplished through the agency of a certain class of
microorganisms which had the characteristic function of fermenting certain of
the sugars and converting these sugars into lactic acid, which acid in its turn
attacked the solid structure wherever it came into contact with it, dissolving
out its mineral matter which caused the structure to disintegrate (Formir 1984,
P.200)
Dr. Mlller's research also confirms that dental caries can be, and is, due to
decomposition of carbohydrate food particles in unclean mouths, from which we
have drawn the conclusion that tooth decay is a filth disease, that if proper
care as to oral hygiene is instituted and maintained dental caries may be
eradicated. Oral hygiene alone cannot wholly prevent it, but it can undoubtedly
greatly diminish
its ravages.(Fones, 1984, P.212)
Insights into Flossing
After learning about proper flossing and dental caries I can see how important
it is to floss my teeth regularly. It `s a great factor in preventing my teeth
from decaying. As I child I had a number of cavities filled. Maybe if I had
taken better care of my teeth back then I wouldn't have had to endure such
pain. Studies have shown me that flossing my teeth will reduce my risk of
dental caries and gum disease, and yet I still am reluctant to floss every
night. This must be do to my personal situation and behaviors. So now I will
explore more into the sociological aspects as to why I don't floss and how I
can change.
Self Examination
The development of an active and transactional conception a foundation for the
study of perception and learning. The self can be considered a system that
strives for stability although undergoing change, maintaining balance while
experiencing tension. The contemplation of serious change in lifestyle, or the
need to reconceptualize one's understanding of past or present reality can be
sources of inner dissonance.(Goldstein,1981, P. 111)
Thus, I must balance my present -self with what I hope to become, which is
someone who takes care of her dental health. I am striving to bring consistency
to my self concept, but it is very difficult. I look back on my past and
realize that my cavities were probably due to my improper brushing as a child
and my failure to floss my teeth. I feel guilty for not flossing my teeth, and
yet my lifestyle does not leave me time to begin flossing regularly.
Also, since I know that I do not like to floss and probably won't stick to a
flossing schedule, I naturally act that way and my behaviors dictate my
actions. This is like a self fufilling prophecy on myself in which I tell
myself that I don't like to floss and so naturally I react negatively to it
when I actually try to floss.
Not too long after- my observation period when I tried to floss every night,
Dr. Jacobovits talked about stress and coping. Recently I have been under alot
of stress from work and school and so maybe it was rubbing off into my personal
behaviors. All the stress I was experiencing lead me to feel depressed about
myself be cause I was not coping properly. According to Bandura's Self efficacy
theory, If I think I cannot cope, I may avoid a situation or suffer emotional
stress, and vice versa. He believes that "Simply believing will allow you to
cope." Possibly, since I believed that I couldn't floss right and would not
enjoy it, I consequently did not like it. Then I may start feeling guilty
because I did not floss and had such a hard day that I'll begin to be more in a
bad mood and will in turn not want to deal with the
cycle.
Strategies For Change
While viewing a former students paper I came across a book she used in her
attempts to eliminate procrastination from her life. The book was entitled
Doing It Now: A Twelve-Step Program For Curing Procrastination and Achieving
Your Goals. by Edwin C. Bliss. Although My flossing has nothing really to do
with procrastination, it is a goal of mine to start flossing regularly so his
information is still helpful and adaptable to my situation. In his book, the
author outlines twelve steps to achieve your goals and they
are as follows:
Step 1: Attitude Adjustments
Step 2: Develop a Game Plan
Step 3: Overcome Fear of Failure
Step 4: Overcome Fear of Success
Step 5: Raise Your Energy Level
Step 6: Get Tough With Yourself
Step 7: Establish an Action Environment
Step 8: Use the Reinforcement Principle
Step 9: Consider Deliberate Delay
Step 10: Manage Your Time
Step 11: Use Visible Reminders
Step 12: Learn to Deal With the Top 40 Cop-outs
After reviewing these twelve steps I can see how most of them can apply to my
flossing attempts. I also see that I can not expect miracles over night. I must
work at my actions and try to modify my behavior slowly. Then maybe in time I
will be able to boast that I floss my teeth every night. In the meantime I will
continue to strive for my goal keeping in mind these helpful hints and also the
great fear of getting more cavities or gum disease.
Evaluation
In concluding this paper I would like to reflect upon the various things I
discovered. First of all, most of my hypothesis was right. I found that if I
was in a good mood I did feel better about flossing. And if I had a bad day I
didn't really want to floss. But other factors also contributed to my flossing
and not flossing. If I wanted to eat candy I had to floss the night before
which I was encouraged to do. Also, if I didn't have the time because I got
home late, then chances are I wouldn't floss my teeth. It was painful at first
to floss my teeth, probably because my gums are sensitive and they are not used
to being flossed. But reflecting back on my childhood and all the cavities I
had makes me think more about my current lifestyle and how I should incorporate
flossing into my routine. After reading about dental caries and gum disease, I
am convinced that flossing nightly will greatly reduce my chances of getting
any of these things. I know it takes time to change a behavior, but with
patience and dedication it can be done.
Summary
Looking back on this entire experiment and paper, I can see that I not only
learned a lot about flossing, but I also learned a lot about myself. Besides
learning that flossing my teeth every night is proper dental practice, I found
that just maintaining my health is an important factor that I often overlook.
It seems as though we take for granted things like our health and we do very
little to protect it. I can see this not only in my aversion to flossing, but
in my lack of committed exercise and health eating habits. I spend many late
nights studying and consuming junk food, not giving my health a second thought.
I also learned that it is never wise to procrastinate. When you have a big
project, such as this paper to do, it is very harmful to not only your studies,
but to your health also if you procrastinate. I found that I am not a good
manager of my time and that I must work on it so that I will not get so
stressed in the future.
One other thing that I discovered, is how helpful the library and the
librarians are. Before this semester, I rarely used the library except maybe to
stay for a test or meet my friends and socialize. Now I realize what an
abundance of information is available for me at both Hamilton and Sinclair
Library. I know now how to use most of the library system much better now,
including the help of the reference librarians.
Therefore, this paper and this class was a great lesson to me. It taught me to
be more aware of my health and to not take it for granted. It also taught me
about my time management skills and how to make the library work for me. I
don't know if any of this will change me instantly, but it
will surely help me in the long run.
Afterthought
I decided to add this afterthought because of the changes that took place
since I did my experiment. For one thing I have become even more busy as it is
nearing final exam week and have been under a lot of stress. Thus, I have not
flossed my teeth once since the experiment. This makes me very sad thinking
about it because I went through so much trouble to try and change my habit and
so far it hasn't worked yet. On top of that, I have been eating a great deal
more candy and now my teeth is beginning to hurt in certain areas. I will have
to go to the dentist during vacation to check if I have any cavities.
I guess I was right in summarizing that we all seem to take our health for
granted. We never do things until it is too late. But habits and attitudes are
something that cannot be altered overnight. It takes time and patience. I know
if I work at it little by little, day by day, one day I will begin to floss
regularly and enjoy it. But for now I will remain just dreaming about a time in
the future 1n which I
can proudly tell my dentist, "Yes, I floss my teeth every night."
Glossary
Anxiety
- Severe nervousness, tension, apprehension.
Attitude
- A general feeling or evaluation, positive or negative,
about some person, object, or issue.
Behavior
- How we act, think, feel, both internal and external.
Affective
- Having to do with feelings, emotions, arousal, etc.
Cognitive
- Having to do with the mind, thinking, knowledge, etc.
Sensory Motor
- Having to do with the body, action, movement, etc.
Coping
- The way people attempt to deal with stress either by
trying to reduce the emotional distress or by solving the
problem.
Depression
- Lowered mood, sadness, sometimes accompanied by a slowing
down of activity, loss of appetite, and deep feelings of
despondency.
Dependent variable
- Observed response of the subject which may be affected by
the IV in an experiment.
Exacerbation Cycle
- A vicious circle in which people attribute their
undesirable behavior to their negative qualities, and then
these attributions produce feelings such as anxiety that make worse the
undesirable behavior.
experiment
- A research approach in which the experimenter carries some
part of the subjects' experience to observe the effect this
has on their behavior.
Hypothesis
- The predicted explanation for the outcome of an
experiment; the explanation the researcher thinks best
accounts for the relationship between two or more events.
independent Variable
- The factor that is deliberately varied or manipulated by
the experimenter in an experiment.
Observations
- The recording of data or the systematic gathering of data
by observing the subject.
Research
- The systematic process of gathering data in order to
discover or revise facts and theories.
Self
- A persons body, mind, attitudes, etc. both internal and
external.
self-concept
- How a person sees himself and his attitudes and opinions
about his capabilities and characteristics.
Self-efficacy
- In Bandura's theory, a personal judgment about one's
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
- A belief that a particular event will occur, leading the
person to act in a way that causes the event to occur.
Social Psychology
- The scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and
behaviors of individuals are influenced by the actual,
imagined, or implied presence of other people.
Stress
- Condition that occurs when environmental or psychological
events, called stressors, threaten an organism's safety or
well-being.
Note Page
Steele, Pauline F. Dimensions of Dental Hygiene.
Lea & Febieger, 1966, P. 112.
Fones, Alfred C. D.D.S Mouth Hygiene. Lea &
Febiger, 1934, P. 200.
Fones. P. 212.
Coldstein. Social Examine and Change: A Cognitive
Approach to Human Services. University of Southern
California Press, 1981, P. 111.
References
Bliss, Edwin C. Doing It Now: _ Twelve-step Program for
Curing Procrastination and Achieving Your Goals. New
York: Scribner, 1983.
The author presents a twelve step plan to get rid of
your procrastination.
Fones, Alfred C. D.D.S. Mouth hygiene. Philadelphia: Lea
Febiger, 1984.
This book is an informative reference on basic oral
hygiene skills and practices for dental students and
practitioners.
Goldstein, Howard. Social Learning and Change: _A Cognitive
Approach to Human Services. Columbia: University of
Southern California Press, 1981.
This is a Social Psychology book dealing with deviant
behaviors and how to control and change them.
Steele, Pauline F. Dimensions of Dental Hygiene.
Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger, 1966.
This is also an informative reference on the practices
of dentistry and oral hygiene. It in-cludes pictures and
procedures to follow in caring for patience and determining
various dental factors.
Watson, David L. Social psychology: Science and
Application. Glenvlew, Illinois: Scott, Foresman and
Company, 1984.
This is a relatively interesting and understandable book
dealing with people interaction, including experiments, life
situations, and other psychology concepts.
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