# If you had a terminal disease, would you still floss? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 14, 2013, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-a-terminal-disease-would-you-still-floss/673946 "2013-11-14T23:50:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-a-terminal-disease-would-you-still-floss/673946/21 "2013-11-19T18:49:19Z")
I would still floss as often as I do now, which is about twice a week. I don’t feel any benefit from flossing and it makes no difference to my breath or appearance. Those are not the reasons I’d floss. I would still floss because doctors are sometimes wrong. What if six months actually turns into a year, or a decade? Or if there’s an experimental drug trial that cures the disease for good? For me, continuing to floss would be my statement to myself and the world that I’m not resigned to just six months, no matter what the experts say. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-a-terminal-disease-would-you-still-floss/673946/22 "2013-11-19T19:11:18Z")
> [@Black\_Bisector](#): > > Flossing is what separates us from apes. > > That and refrigerators. > [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > I thought it was paying for sex. I thought it was paying for sex with apes. I’ve noticed _they_ never offer to pay! ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-a-terminal-disease-would-you-still-floss/673946/23 "2013-11-19T19:22:38Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > mint floss or ordinary? Waxed or unwaxed? ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-a-terminal-disease-would-you-still-floss/673946/24 "2013-11-19T19:48:30Z")
Floss? ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-a-terminal-disease-would-you-still-floss/673946/25 "2013-11-19T19:52:37Z")
I’d still floss, for much the same reason that I’d continue to wipe my ass in the same circumstances- not doing either is nasty. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-a-terminal-disease-would-you-still-floss/673946/26 "2013-11-19T20:15:51Z")
Well, not if I was dying of gum cancer. Otherwise sure, continuing to play the _mouth harp_ would seem oddly appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-a-terminal-disease-would-you-still-floss/673946/27 "2013-11-19T20:52:29Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Yes. I’d rather not smell dead until I am. This. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-a-terminal-disease-would-you-still-floss/673946/28 "2013-11-19T20:55:49Z")
Hell, I’d even make a special trip to [Montana](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TIVAMehnxM) so I could get the very best dental floss, fresh from the fields. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-a-terminal-disease-would-you-still-floss/673946/29 "2013-11-20T00:37:23Z")
Six months to live? Whoo-hoo! No more oil changes for me! ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-a-terminal-disease-would-you-still-floss/673946/30 "2013-11-20T01:15:42Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I thought it was paying for sex with apes. I’ve noticed _they_ never offer to pay! The ones you know don’t? You’re hanging around with the wrong apes. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-a-terminal-disease-would-you-still-floss/673946/31 "2013-11-20T01:52:31Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I thought it was paying for sex with apes. I’ve noticed _they_ never offer to pay! Well, what did you think the bananas are for? Wait–don’t answer that. I’d probably keep doing it. I’ve had several friends and family members who were told they had N months to live, and ended up living N + MANY months. Drinking, however… there’s a liquor store down at the corner that’d be getting my business again. Oh, yes… Roger Rabbit: But the liquor store guy? He knew! ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-a-terminal-disease-would-you-still-floss/673946/32 "2013-11-20T02:05:58Z")
I’d floss when it occurred to me, like I do now, which is generally two to three times a week. > [@Black\_Bisector](#): > > Flossing is what separates us from apes. > > That and refrigerators. > [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > I thought it was paying for sex. > [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I thought it was paying for sex with apes. I’ve noticed _they_ never offer to pay! > [@TokyoBayer](#): > > The ones you know don’t? You’re hanging around with the wrong apes. And because this is the Dope: [Wild Chimpanzees Exchange Meat for Sex on a Long-Term Basis](http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0005116). ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-a-terminal-disease-would-you-still-floss/673946/33 "2013-11-20T13:34:58Z")
Not only wouldn’t I floss, there would be a lot of other things I would let go. I would eat (if I could) whatever and however much I wanted. I remember my brother with a fatal brain tumor spending an hour on a treadmill two months before he died. Not for me. Back when I had stopped smoking, I used to daydream that I had 6 months to live and I could start smoking again. After about ten years, that daydream went away. Now the thought is revolting. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-a-terminal-disease-would-you-still-floss/673946/34 "2013-11-20T14:19:35Z")
> [@Black\_Bisector](#): > > Flossing is what separates us from apes. > > That and refrigerators. And zoos. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-a-terminal-disease-would-you-still-floss/673946/35 "2013-11-20T14:20:46Z")
Why add gingivitis to whatever is killing me? I would continue to floss. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-a-terminal-disease-would-you-still-floss/673946/36 "2013-11-20T14:31:18Z")
I would continue to floss to get the popcorn kernels unstuck because my diet would consist of buttered popcorn and candy bars and cookies. And I’d start smoking again but that’s another thread. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-a-terminal-disease-would-you-still-floss/673946/37 "2013-11-20T15:20:14Z")
When my dad was diagnosed with terminal bone cancer, one of the things he said was that he was never going to the dentist again. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-a-terminal-disease-would-you-still-floss/673946/38 "2013-11-20T19:14:39Z")
Yes, because not flossing is just gross. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-a-terminal-disease-would-you-still-floss/673946/39 "2013-11-21T01:54:51Z")
> [@InternetLegend](#): > > And because this is the Dope: [Wild Chimpanzees Exchange Meat for Sex on a Long-Term Basis](http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0005116). And because that is [the Onion](Housewife Charged In Sex-For-Security Scam). ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-a-terminal-disease-would-you-still-floss/673946/40 "2013-11-22T13:19:22Z")
> [@Sal\_Ammoniac](#): > > So say you had six months to live. Would you still floss? > > Me, I’d quit in a heartbeat (unless, of course, I had something stuck up there that was driving me nuts). In fact, I’d go so far as to say that not having to floss would be one of the biggest dividends of being terminal. > > But maybe there are people here who \*like \*flossing, who live to floss, so to speak. > > Fellow Dopers, how do you plead? I personally wouldn’t unless i couldn’t like the feeling of tarter on my teeth, but I took care of a Sister who had a short time to live and until she could no longer floss she did. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-a-terminal-disease-would-you-still-floss/673946.md?page=1)