Epping Dentist
Flossing addresses the 30% of tooth surface that is between the teeth. It should be part of our threefold dental hygiene practice – Brushing, flossing, and use of mouthwash. we should brush twice daily, and floss at least once daily. We can use mouthwash several times per day, with once a day being a minimum. Proper brushing does a decent job of removing the bacteria, food debris, and plaque on the outside of our teeth. But it is unable to remove anything from the spaces between the teeth. This is why we need floss, or an alternative cleaning method, to clean these between teeth areas. If we leave these spaces uncleaned we risk gum disease and tooth decay.
Flossing is simple yet effective if it is done correctly.
- Use a piece of floss about 50cm in length.
- Wrap either end of the floss around the index finger of each hand. Leave about 10-15 cm between each hand.
- Use a section of floss to clean between the first pair of teeth. Rub the floss against the inner side of each tooth to remove any plaque. Remember to clean right up into the gum line.
- Use a clean section of floss to clean the nesting pair of teeth, and repeat for the whole mouth
It is a bad sign if the gums start to bleed. This might be because you have not been flossing enough.
Some people like to brush and use mouthwash before flossing. This kills (almost all) the bacteria in the mouth before you floss, preventing any bad bacteria from getting into a bleeding gum-line. Getting bacteria into our bloodstream is bad for our health.
Alternatives of Flossing – Epping Dental
- Floss picks
These are short sections of floss held in a plastic holder. Some people find this easier to use than regular floss. But the disadvantage is that the same piece of floss is used for all the teeth, so we may end up spreading the bacteria from one place to the next. - Waterpik
This is an electronic device that uses high-pressure water to clean the teeth. It is quite effective, though the device is rather expensive. - Interdental brushes
These are short brushes, rather like a pipe cleaner, that are used to clean between teeth. That is quite effective for larger spaces, like those between the back molars. that is great for dislodging pieces of food (like popcorn) that are stuck between teeth.
Interdental brushes have the same disadvantage as Floss Picks, we reuse the same brush to clean all the teeth, and risk spreading the bad bacteria from one space to the next. But they are still useful for cleaning some troublesome spaces where the floss is too small.
Epping Dentist
Flossing cleans up all the smaller areas between teeth, making sure that our mouth is as thoroughly clean as possible. Clean teeth and gums suffer far few problems.
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