Those regularly chided by their dentists got good news on Tuesday, as the U.S. government acknowledged something to which TIME had brought attention last year: there is little scientific evidence that flossing your teeth really makes a difference when it comes to cavities and gum disease.
But if we’ve all just been wasting minutes a day on flossing—which, let’s be honest, few people actually want to do—why did we start doing that in the first place?
