Using Oral-B Glide dental floss might be associated with higher levels of toxicPFAS chemicals in your body, according to a newpeer-reviewed study of consumer behaviors potentially linked to the substances.
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are potentially harmful chemicals often used for their water and grease resistance.
Thestudy, which aimed to explain how these chemicals enter the human body, was published Tuesday inthe Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology and comes from the Silent Spring Institute inNewton, Massachusetts,and Public Health Institute in Berkeley, California.
Researchers found higher levels of PFHxS (perfluorohexanesulfonic acid), a PFAS, in women who flossed with Oral-B Glide compared to those who didn't.
"This is the first study to show that using dental floss containing PFAS is associated with a higher body burden of these toxic chemicals," lead author Katie Boronow, a scientist at Silent Spring, said in a statement.
In a statement to USA TODAY on Thursday, Oral-B said it didn't find any of the substances in the study in its floss. "The safety of the people who use our products is our top priority. Our dental floss undergoes thorough safety testing and we stand behind the safety of all our products," the company said.
Among the other behaviorsin the study that were associated with higher PFAS levels: Having stain-resistant carpet or furniture and living in a city with drinking water contaminated by a PFAS.
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Researchers also found that African-American women who ate food from coated cardboard containers had higher PFAS levels for four of the chemicals studied compared to those who didn't.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "there is evidence that exposure to PFAS can lead to adverse human health effects."
Floss, other hygiene products, nonstick cookware,fast food wrappers and microwave popcorn bags are among the various products the Centers for Disease Control lists as potentially containing PFAS.
Exposure to certain PFAS chemicals, likeperfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), has ties to cancer,ulcerative colitis in adults andthyroid disease in children, amongother health problems, researchers said.
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According to the EPA, PFAS chemicals have been used in products inthe United States since the 1940s. The agency also says the chemicals accumulate in the body over time.
"As a result, as people get exposed to PFAS from different sources over time, the level of PFAS in their bodies may increase to the point where they suffer from adverse health effects," the EPA website states.
The study consisted of178 middle-aged women,about half of who are African-American, from the Public Health Institute's Child Health and Development Studies, which looks atmultigenerationalimpacts of environmental chemicals and other factors on disease.
Researchers measured levels ofPFASin the women's blood and laterinterviewed them about certain behaviors that might lead to exposure — likeeating food from coated cardboard containers andnonstick cookwareor having stain-resistant carpet and furniture.
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Oral-B Glide flosses were among the18 floss products studied. Scientists said they tested the various products forfluorine, an indicator of the PFASpolytetrafluoroethylene, or PTFE. Six of the products had fluorine, including theOral-B Glide products and others marked with "compare to Oral-B Glide."
"The good news is, based on our findings, consumers can choose flosses that don't contain PFAS,"Boronow said.
In an earlier statement to USA TODAY,Velvet Gogol Bennett, a spokesperson forProcter & Gamble, emphasized that the study focused on a variety of behaviors and products, not just flossing, and that their use by the women was self-reported.Procter & Gamble is Oral-B's parent company.
Follow USA TODAY's Ryan Miller on Twitter @RyanW_Miller.
