this post was submitted on 07 Jun 2026
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Truth, and the crux of OP’s joke. In the interest of preempting inevitable contrarian protest: Yes, obviously you can also make healthy gums bleed, but it requires more direct damage or prolonged irritation than anything expected during routine prophylaxis.
Tip I heard long ago: forget blood, try smelling your floss instead.
Blood can indicate gingivitis, but that takes days or weeks to develop (and clears just as quickly with proper flossing).
But if you smell your floss instead, you can detect even a day or two of failing to floss, as your floss will smell like bad breath. It’s also all the incentive most people need to floss, because no one wants bad breath.