Your dentist may not catch on right away if you're not flossing regularly, but once plaque buildup and tooth decay begin to set in, he certainly will take notice!
The more important question is, why don't you just... floss?
If you have not been flossing as consistently as you ought to be, your dentist and hygienist may not notice immediately. Particularly if you start flossing again about a week before your appointment, the dentist may not notice any problems because it takes approximately a week of regular flossing for your gums to stop bleeding when they’re cleaned.
In a addition, if you are young, healthy, and have a nutritious diet (all of which have an effect on your oral health), you can also decrease the outward signs poor oral hygiene for a time.
However, this won't last forever.
Think of it this way: if you stopped exercising and eating a healthy diet consistently, the the negative impact of moving less and eating less healthy foods might not be immediately appearent. You would continue to look, and even feel, very much the same for some time.
But these lifestyle changes would catch up with you eventually, just like not flossing would.
Ultimately, oral health is founded on prevention and maintenance, not treatment. Making good dental hygiene a regular part of your daily routine will prevent problems from developing in the first place.
What will happen if I don't floss enough?
Infrequent flossing presents the bacteria in your mouth with the opportunity to increase in numbers, and colonize in the tight spaces between your teeth, where they can't be reached by your toothbrush.
After a while, tooth decay and gum disease will begin to develop. Your dentist will then be able to tell that your oral hygiene routine is lacking! But this will be the least of your problems.
In the end, we’ll leave you with these questions: What are the actual benefits of fooling your dentist into thinking you’re flossing regularly when you’re not? What's the point? Why not just floss regularly instead?