Jun 03,2021 
On my last visit to my dentist, I left angry. I walked out of the surgery feeling conned. In my hand, I grasped two packets of high-quality dental floss. I’ve never flossed before and to date, I’ve still never flossed.
A British dentist at the University of Birmingham, Prof Damien Walmsley, said there is only “weak evidence” to suggest flossing is beneficial.
How on earth was I conned into buying dental floss? Does this product even have any benefit? Why would I want to buy something I have no intention of ever using?
There’s clearly several issues at play here:
On my last visit to my dentist, I left angry. I walked out of the surgery feeling conned. In my hand, I grasped two packets of high-quality dental floss. I’ve never flossed before and to date, I’ve still never flossed.
A British dentist at the University of Birmingham, Prof Damien Walmsley, said there is only “weak evidence” to suggest flossing is beneficial.
How on earth was I conned into buying dental floss? Does this product even have any benefit? Why would I want to buy something I have no intention of ever using?
There’s clearly several issues at play here:
How Do You Market a Product That Nobody Needs?
First, you need to present your product as the solution to a problem.
The problem here is rotten teeth. Who wants that? This is an easy sell in a dentist. The patient already has a need, their teeth ache or it’s a check-up and they’ve arrived at your business. It’s now a question of when to present the worst scenario that foretells the loss of teeth.
And it’s not just the loss of teeth. The social impact has a major psychological grip on my sense of worth. With bad teeth I can’t get a date. Without a date I’ll be lonely. Being lonely will lead me to depression. Being depressed… well, you get the picture. A spiraling decline in my mental health all
because of bad teeth.
It gets worse. You’re seeking employment. You have bad breath caused by food stuck in your teeth. You have an interview coming up. Without flossing you could be doomed. Without a job, you can’t get a date. Without a date, you’ll be lonely. Yeah, I know, it all leads back to sex.
All this runs through my mind as I sit sprawled in the dentist’s chair unable to answer back coherently.
