Flossing between your teeth removes both plaque and bacteria build-up that brushing misses. It’s been advised that flossing accompany brushing for a more thorough clean to prevent cavities and tooth decay. For the large molar teeth, a significant part of the surface area is missed by the brush, so it’s particularly important to remove plaque and food particles here to avoid the damage plaque and tartar can cause, like gum disease and gingivitis. Tartar forms when plaque has had a chance to harden and it can’t be easily removed by brushing or flossing, only a professional dentist visit with proper tools can take care of it.
Floss Is Boss
Dental floss is inexpensive and easy to find at any drugstore and many grocery stores. To floss, measure an amount of floss about the length of your arm and wrap it a few times around your fingers, leaving a couple inches between hands. Place the floss between pairs of teeth and wrap around into the shape of a C at the base of the tooth and just under the gum line. Gently move the floss up from base to tip a few times, then move to thenext tooth, starting from one side of the mouth and moving to the other, on both the bottom and top rows of teeth. Be sure that both sides of each tooth is flossed. Unwrap and recoil floss occasionally to get a clean length as you go. Brush the teeth after flossing, and rinse with a mouthwash if desired.
You may experience bleeding the first several flossings. This is normal because your gums are not accustomed to the interference, but if bleeding continues after several days, contact your dentist, or visit Hawthorne Village Dental today to make an appointment, as this may be a sign of a tooth or gums issue.
Though flossing is recommended by dentists, there was a bit of controversy a few years ago. There has been a lack of research concluding that flossing helps dental health. Recommendations to floss need to be based on scientific evidence, so in the 2015 version of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the mention of flossing was removed. A news agency reviewed research on flossing and found the findings to be weak in support of it. However, professional groups like the American Dental Association and the Canadian Dental Association do recommend and encourage patients to floss regularly along with brushing.After all, regular flossing can help combat:
- Heart disease
- Stroke
- Gingivitis
- And other diseases
Those who do floss can see the physical evidence that it is working. Dentistscontinue to recommend flossing because, in practice, there are real, helpful benefits, even if there aren’t studies to back up the practice.One issue is likely a lack of proper flossing technique.
Find A Tutorial
Many people believe a sawing motion is needed, whereas the technique is actually that gentle sliding of the floss up from the base of the tooth, as mentioned above. It is entirely possible many research subjects weren’t given a proper tutorial on how to floss the right way.
There are no dentists who have claimed that flossing is actively bad for you. There is an overwhelming yes from experts to the question, Should I Floss? Use a quality coated floss paired with brushing and regular dentist visits for professional cleaning. Your hygienist can help teach you the proper technique to ensure you’re performing the correct motion.
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