IFDH Interdental Cleaning Survey Results for Survey 11

In May-June 2025, the IFDH fielded a survey to better understand global practices and beliefs around interdental cleaning. This was the 11th in a series of surveys to help identify opportunities for future educational programs. Topline results are shown below. See the PowerPoint summary at the bottom of this page for full data.

Demographics
The survey was sent to 34 national associations. There were 663 respondents, representing 34 countries. The top 5 countries with respondents were:

• United Kingdom 23%
• Norway 15%
• Czech Republic 14%
• USA 7%
• Portugal 6%

Respondents had good representation across years of practice.

• 51% with 15 years or less experience compared with 49% with 16 years or more
• 57% in private practice, 10% in independent practice
• 68% with a Diploma/Bachelors degree, 23% with an Advanced degree or Advanced Diploma

Topline Results

• There is a notable need for patients to improve interdental cleaning. When asked “how many of your patients need to improve their at-home interdental cleaning?”, 41% said “most or all”, 35% said “many” and 17% said “about half”.

• Interdental cleaning product recommendations are tailored to patient needs.
  • Interdental brushes are the most commonly recommended across various patient groups, except for children for whom floss picks are most commonly recommended. Interdental brushes are also viewed as having the best patient compliance overall.
  • Dental floss is commonly recommended for adults, children, and patients with removable orthodontics.
  • Water irrigation devices and threader floss are commonly recommended for patients with fixed orthodontia and implants.

• The two interdental cleaning products that respondents personally use most often are interdental brushes (37%) and dental floss (28%).

• The top 3 barriers to patient compliance with interdental cleaning are:
  • Lack of motivation (90% agree);
  • Lack of proper technique (82% agree); and
  • Fear of gum bleeding (81% agree)

• 98% agree that “Patients who clean interdentally regularly have visibly healthier gums than those who do not."

Click here to save the PowerPoint summary with detailed results.