Message from the President of the National Flossing Council

The National Flossing Council
Washington, DC

From: Dr. Armand Lione, President, NFC

To: Website Visitors

Welcome to the web site of the National Flossing Council (NFC)! Now that you've found us, please look around and find out what we're doing to "Help Spread Peace of Mouth." We hope you’ll be pleased and amused by what you find and join us in our efforts to popularize floss and flossing!

To see what we've done so far, you can open some of the graphics from the National Flossing Council's Ad Campaign, then admire some Floss Art, read Dr. Chip Tartaroff's answers to tough flossing questions, and even watch movie clips from films that include the best flossing scenes in major motion pictures. You’ll find these on the FLOSCAR page.

Our blog has proven very useful for new topics that we may wait before adding to this website. Be sure to check it HERE.

Our biggest annual celebration is National Flossing Day (NFD). It is always celebrated on the Friday after Thanksgiving. What better day to celebrate flossing than after a day of national eating? NFD was first celebrated in 2000 in Washington DC and across the United States. In 2004, we gave a Flossy to Ellen DeGeneres for her efforts promoting floss. In 2005, Ben & Jerry’s Factory Tour in Waterbury, VT distributed free floss to over 1,000 visitors, and The United Methodist Temple in Beckley, WV gave out floss cards to mark NFD at their “Parent’s Night Out.” For several years, in Washington, NFD was marked with Floss/Food Art competitions.

In 2007 (Nov. 23, 2007) NFD was celebrated by a variety of groups across the country. In the spirit of National Flossing Day, we requested that McDonald's restuarants begin offering individual packs of floss with each of its meals. For details, click here. For National Flossing Day, 2008 (Nov. 28, 2008), we focused on promoting flossing etiquette by making available downloadable signs to make clear where flossing is ok.

National Flossing Day for 2009 was Nov. 27. The theme was "Floss With A Friend!" We posted a fun video with T-Rex explaining the importance of floss to children everywhere. In a response video, a group of young video makers retold an alternate history of National Flossing Day and did some fun flossing with friends!

In 2010, National Flossing Day fell on Nov. 26. The theme wass "The Joy of Flossing!" We announced the Flossies Bergere Video Challenge to prompt people to show what the joy of flossing can look like. Now, with NFD coming up, we announced the Winner, Shelli Saraga or Boynton Beach, FL.

For National Flossing Day 2011, we issued a White Paper to clear up some confusion that only "professional" flossing (whatever that is) reduces cavities. Our press release and the White Paper explain in detail.

National Flossing Day 2012 was marked by a 1 min video ad we created that suggested dental floss was found on Mars - indicating a sign of intelligent life. We also released a linocut on our blog that could be printed and mounted to serve as a reminder to floss.

For 2013 we celebrated the addition of between 5 and 9 million children being offered dental coverage through the Affordable Care Act - That's what National Flossing Day is all about - "Help Spread 'Peace of Mouth!" Also, we posted a video with delightful baby animals flossing saying "We floss, do you?"

For 2014, we're celebrating with floss and dance! Lululemon, maker of fine dance and athletic clothes, issued a manifesto in 2014, encouraging everyone to floss and dance. We've picked up on that, made the floss more visible and added the hard-driving music of the Malagasy band, Raoky, to start the dancing. Check out our video.

The Presidential campaigns were well underway as NFD 2015 approached, so we offered pictures of select candidates with floss for the electorate to consider when they vote.

For NFD 2016 we addressed the big floss story of the year and explained why we don't care if science has gotten around to proving how good floss is!

You'll also find a link for a history of NFD videos over the last 10 years on the main page.

The word about NFD has gotten out thanks to the help of the folks at Brownielocks.com, who kindly include it in their annual calendar. Since 2006, NFD has also been listed in Chase’s Calendar of Events, which is available at many libraries.

Before you start touring the web site, you may be wondering who the NFC is and what it stands for. Allow me to explain, briefly. The NFC is an all-volunteer organization dedicated to promoting floss and flossing. Founded in 1996, we expanded onto the web in 1997 and, working from a base in Washington, DC, we now have representatives in most states. We have done our work up to this point without commercial support, and we're not seeking to be a voice for any one part of the floss industry. As you’ll learn below, we are interested in working with industry and government health organizations to make dental floss more available, but the primary focus of our work is to promote flossing, whether its done with the finest synthetic commercial floss, or thread from a sewing kit. At the NFC we’re dedicated to using any and all media to spread the word, and the word is FLOSS! Advertising can be incredibly influential and, if done well, there's no reason advertising can't help people floss.

To promote flossing, we make our volunteer-produced advertisements available to magazines, billboards and television as a free public service. Much of our advertising includes our major slogan, "Help Spread "Peace of Mouth" - Floss!" Understanding "Peace of Mouth" is simple. Peace of mouth is something like peace of mind, only not as profound. A life without dental distress is one that includes "Peace of Mouth." Although there are many routes to this inner (oral) peace, we believe that flossing is an important peace-keeping tool.

In our ads, we try to amuse and provoke. Hopefully, you’ll be inspired to volunteer and contribute your ideas. New ideas for floss ads are always needed. You can also submit your floss art or a floss haiku. To encourage submissions and reward contributors, the first MouthWatch Grande Prix was awarded on National Flossing Day, 2003 to the best MouthWatch submission during the previous year. We have also initiated a web page to promote the wider availability of dental floss in everyday life. We call our floss lobbying efforts the “Flossing Policy Initiative.” For details on this work, click here.

As you can see on the Flossy Award page, Jerry Seinfeld, has already done a floss ad. To call attention to his work, we've given Jerry Seinfeld our highest media award, "The Flossy", for Best Ad from the Flossing Industry. On National Flossing Day, 2004, we announced that Ellen DeGeneris was another winner of The Flossy!

Many thanks are due to our founding webmaster and graphics wizard, Don Anderson. It was Don who originally built this web site and kept it running. Unfortunately, because of time and resource restraints, the web site is no longer solely Don’s creation, but Don’s pages and contributions are readily visible from the quality of his work.

Now, enjoy your visit to our web site and please send us your comments and ideas. We look forward to hearing from you!

Armand

Armand Lione, Ph.D.
Armand@flossing.org


			The National Flossing Council Washington, DC From: Dr. Armand Lione, President, NFC To: Website Visitors Welcome to the web site of the National Flossing Council (NFC)! Now that you've found us, please look around and find out what we're doing to "Help Spread Peace of Mouth." We hope you’ll be pleased and amused by what you find and join us in our efforts to popularize floss and flossing! To see what we've done so far, you can open some of the graphics from the National Flossing Council's Ad Campaign, then admire some Floss Art, read Dr. Chip Tartaroff's answers to tough flossing questions, and even watch movie clips from films that include the best flossing scenes in major motion pictures. You’ll find these on the FLOSCAR page. Our blog has proven very useful for new topics that we may wait before adding to this website. Be sure to check it HERE. Our biggest annual celebration is National Flossing Day (NFD). It is always celebrated on the Friday after Thanksgiving. What better day to celebrate flossing than after a day of national eating? NFD was first celebrated in 2000 in Washington DC and across the United States. In 2004, we gave a Flossy to Ellen DeGeneres for her efforts promoting floss. In 2005, Ben & Jerry’s Factory Tour in Waterbury, VT distributed free floss to over 1,000 visitors, and The United Methodist Temple in Beckley, WV gave out floss cards to mark NFD at their “Parent’s Night Out.” For several years, in Washington, NFD was marked with Floss/Food Art competitions. In 2007 (Nov. 23, 2007) NFD was celebrated by a variety of groups across the country. In the spirit of National Flossing Day, we requested that McDonald's restuarants begin offering individual packs of floss with each of its meals. For details, click here. For National Flossing Day, 2008 (Nov. 28, 2008), we focused on promoting flossing etiquette by making available downloadable signs to make clear where flossing is ok. National Flossing Day for 2009 was Nov. 27. The theme was "Floss With A Friend!" We posted a fun video with T-Rex explaining the importance of floss to children everywhere. In a response video, a group of young video makers retold an alternate history of National Flossing Day and did some fun flossing with friends! In 2010, National Flossing Day fell on Nov. 26. The theme wass "The Joy of Flossing!" We announced the Flossies Bergere Video Challenge to prompt people to show what the joy of flossing can look like. Now, with NFD coming up, we announced the Winner, Shelli Saraga or Boynton Beach, FL. For National Flossing Day 2011, we issued a White Paper to clear up some confusion that only "professional" flossing (whatever that is) reduces cavities. Our press release and the White Paper explain in detail. National Flossing Day 2012 was marked by a 1 min video ad we created that suggested dental floss was found on Mars - indicating a sign of intelligent life. We also released a linocut on our blog that could be printed and mounted to serve as a reminder to floss. For 2013 we celebrated the addition of between 5 and 9 million children being offered dental coverage through the Affordable Care Act - That's what National Flossing Day is all about - "Help Spread 'Peace of Mouth!" Also, we posted a video with delightful baby animals flossing saying "We floss, do you?" For 2014, we're celebrating with floss and dance! Lululemon, maker of fine dance and athletic clothes, issued a manifesto in 2014, encouraging everyone to floss and dance. We've picked up on that, made the floss more visible and added the hard-driving music of the Malagasy band, Raoky, to start the dancing. Check out our video. The Presidential campaigns were well underway as NFD 2015 approached, so we offered pictures of select candidates with floss for the electorate to consider when they vote. For NFD 2016 we addressed the big floss story of the year and explained why we don't care if science has gotten around to proving how good floss is! You'll also find a link for a history of NFD videos over the last 10 years on the main page. The word about NFD has gotten out thanks to the help of the folks at Brownielocks.com, who kindly include it in their annual calendar. Since 2006, NFD has also been listed in Chase’s Calendar of Events, which is available at many libraries. Before you start touring the web site, you may be wondering who the NFC is and what it stands for. Allow me to explain, briefly. The NFC is an all-volunteer organization dedicated to promoting floss and flossing. Founded in 1996, we expanded onto the web in 1997 and, working from a base in Washington, DC, we now have representatives in most states. We have done our work up to this point without commercial support, and we're not seeking to be a voice for any one part of the floss industry. As you’ll learn below, we are interested in working with industry and government health organizations to make dental floss more available, but the primary focus of our work is to promote flossing, whether its done with the finest synthetic commercial floss, or thread from a sewing kit. At the NFC we’re dedicated to using any and all media to spread the word, and the word is FLOSS! Advertising can be incredibly influential and, if done well, there's no reason advertising can't help people floss. To promote flossing, we make our volunteer-produced advertisements available to magazines, billboards and television as a free public service. Much of our advertising includes our major slogan, "Help Spread "Peace of Mouth" - Floss!" Understanding "Peace of Mouth" is simple. Peace of mouth is something like peace of mind, only not as profound. A life without dental distress is one that includes "Peace of Mouth." Although there are many routes to this inner (oral) peace, we believe that flossing is an important peace-keeping tool. In our ads, we try to amuse and provoke. Hopefully, you’ll be inspired to volunteer and contribute your ideas. New ideas for floss ads are always needed. You can also submit your floss art or a floss haiku. To encourage submissions and reward contributors, the first MouthWatch Grande Prix was awarded on National Flossing Day, 2003 to the best MouthWatch submission during the previous year. We have also initiated a web page to promote the wider availability of dental floss in everyday life. We call our floss lobbying efforts the “Flossing Policy Initiative.” For details on this work, click here. As you can see on the Flossy Award page, Jerry Seinfeld, has already done a floss ad. To call attention to his work, we've given Jerry Seinfeld our highest media award, "The Flossy", for Best Ad from the Flossing Industry. On National Flossing Day, 2004, we announced that Ellen DeGeneris was another winner of The Flossy! Many thanks are due to our founding webmaster and graphics wizard, Don Anderson. It was Don who originally built this web site and kept it running. Unfortunately, because of time and resource restraints, the web site is no longer solely Don’s creation, but Don’s pages and contributions are readily visible from the quality of his work. Now, enjoy your visit to our web site and please send us your comments and ideas. We look forward to hearing from you! Armand Armand Lione, Ph.D. Armand@flossing.org
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