Benefits of Flossing
 Daily brushing is a highly important step in your dental hygiene, and it seems that most people understand the importance. Another step that is equally important and often less regarded is flossing. We floss to remove debris and plaque from between the teeth and along the gums between the teeth. Applied together, brushing and flossing can help you have healthier teeth and gums and helps prevent gum disease.
At Pine Belt Periodontics, PLLC, our hygienist can demonstrate proper flossing techniques and advise you on varying options that can help make this step more comfortable and beneficial to your oral hygiene routine. Some general flossing tips include:
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Floss Before you go to Bed: Though we recommend brushing twice a day, flossing is best at night before going to bed. You want to remove any stuck food or plaque from your teeth before you retire from your day.
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Find the Floss that Works for You: Today, there are many options in interdental cleaning. Take a walk down the dental aisle at any department store and view the flossing options. There are flossing threads that are waxed, minted, thinner for easier glide and more. Additionally, there are flossing sticks and water irrigators such as the Waterpik. Find the product that works for you.
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Find the Routine that Works for You: We want you to be successful in your oral hygiene. Find what works best. You may find that having multiple brushing/flossing stations works best, maybe in your bathroom and in the kitchen, or in the half bath or all of the above? You may find that you are more likely to floss and brush in the shower. You may want to keep some floss in a kitchen drawer for after dinner. Keep floss in your purse or bag. There are no rules for where to brush or floss, find what works for you.
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Flossing Techniques to Improve Success: Simply flossing up and down may dislodge some material, but is not ideal. We recommend moving the floss in a letter “c” shape to loosen and scoop debris from your teeth. Additionally, extend the floss to just below the gum line in this same scooping formation. This will help remove bacteria filled material from the gums.
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Rinse or Move Along: While flossing, material can stick to the thread. Either rinse your floss or move to a different area of thread as you work. We don’t want to pass bacteria filled material from one tooth to another, we want to remove it.
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Spot Blood?: Are there signs of bleeding when you floss? Either on the thread or when you rinse? Healthy gums shouldn’t bleed, even a little, when you floss. In most cases it’s a sign of inflammation and infection in your gum tissue. This means you need to floss and brush with consistency. A visit to our hygienist can provide you with more information. |
Following the advice of our hygienist and the tips above can help you have healthier teeth and gums.This can be the difference of keeping your teeth longer.
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