Imagine the scenario of washing your coffee cups and never using a brush to get out all those stains at the bottom of the glass. Gross, right? That's just like floss. This simple string helps to clean out all those hard to reach places to prevent bacteria growth and cavities.
Your oral health is a critical factor that contributes to your overall health. And oral health is one of the most under appreciated aspects but what people fail to realize is that many oral diseases are linked to the other general diseases.
Brushing your teeth alone doesn’t make you get rid of bacteria and can still cause oral diseases. Flossing is a great way to clean your mouth completely, especially the areas that brushing fails to reach.
If you don’t floss regularly, you are putting yourself at a risk of developing an infection, and diseases in your mouth. This simple activity can prevent gum disease and gum recession.
What is flossing?
Every time we visit the dentists, they ask us “Have you been Flossing your teeth daily? Our answer is not always positive. But have you ever wondered why they ask us to floss and what is the correct way of flossing your teeth?
Flossing is a technique for removing plaque and other debris from the teeth that cannot be cleaned by brushing. Normally, it includes a thin synthetic cord that you insert between the teeth and move up and down to clean off the bacteria.
Dentists recommend that we should floss at least once a day. Akin to brushing, you should floss your teeth for at least 3 minutes. You can floss your teeth while doing other activities like watching TV.
What’s the Proper Technique?
Proper flossing helps in removing bacteria and food particles from the areas where your toothbrush cannot reach such as between the teeth, under the gumline. Plaque and bacteria build-up results in tooth decay, and oral diseases, and this is why Dentists recommend daily flossing.
5 Easy Steps to Floss
Pull out approximately 18 inches and circle it around the middle fingers. These fingers will fill up the string as it becomes grimy.
Grip the string firmly between the forefingers and the thumbs.
Move the floss in a gentle motion between the teeth. Make sure that you don’t break floss into your gums.
When you reach to the gum curve, then floss into a C adjacent to one of the tooth. Gently move into the spaces between the gums and the teeth.
Hold the floss firmly alongside the tooth. Slightly rub the tooth from the side moving it away from the gum in an up-down motion. Continue this process on rest of the teeth. Make sure that you floss the back side of the last two teeth.
What are the types of floss that you can use?
There are three types of floss-
Regular Floss:
We all know the normal stringed floss. There is mint flavored, waxed, unwaxed, etc. To begin with, there is no big difference between waxed and unwaxed floss. The primary thing that decides the effectiveness of the floss is the technique you use it with. Generally, people go for waxed floss as it moves in and out of the teeth easily as compared to the unwaxed floss. And the mint flavored wax is generally used to provide a fresh and pleasant feeling afterwards.
Floss Picks:
Floss picks have become a popular choice these days; they hold the floss for you which makes it very easier to use and that too with just one hand. However, picks may not reach all the areas that the normal floss does. This is because during flossing you need to make a C shape around the tooth and move up and down to completely clean the tooth, else you won’t be able to clean the teeth effectively.
Oral Irrigators:
An oral irrigator which is also known as dental water jet is a device that uses pulsating water stream to clean the plaque and food particles from the teeth. It is a new flossing device that not only cleans out the plaque but also improves tour gingival health. The machine comes with a water basin that you attach to the device and looks like a toothbrush.
Teeth Cleanings
At Nice Teeth Dental, our dental hygienists are happy to floss your teeth at the end of every cleaning. We can also show you how to properly clean each tooth. With this knowledge, you can improve the overall health of your mouth and reduce the risk of cavities and other dental related ailments. Call us today to schedule an appointment!
