It is a well-known fact that most people don’t floss daily, and some people don’t floss at all. Are you one of them? Do you always have a reason not to floss?
According to the American Dental Association, there are only 50.5% Americans who floss daily and a surprising 28%, who don’t floss at all! Females scored higher in these statistics and were more concerned about their dental hygiene than men.
In an interview, few of the leading dentists were asked a question, “If you were stuck on an island and a boat could bring you only one thing. What would it be? ”. The dentists replied “Floss!” That’s enough to know how important flossing actually is. It helps greatly in overcoming signs of gum diseases, such as Gingivitis, it freshens breath, removes the plaque and debris stuck in the teeth and helps give a polished and refined look to the teeth.
Nowadays, few people can argue that your teeth will last long if you floss and brush. No matter how established this fact is, we still hate flossing!
- “I don’t really know how to floss.”
Well, flossing isn’t easy. It is considered as one of the most complicated personal grooming procedures. However, learning to floss is pretty easy and you can master this art with a little bit of practice.
- Start with 15 to 18 inches of floss. Wrap both the ends around the middle fingers of both your hands.
- 2. Grab the floss tightly between your forefingers and thumbs.
- Use a gentle motion to guide it to your gum line and form a C shape to follow the contours of your teeth.
- Hold the floss firmly and gently guide it up and down. Repeat this procedure with all of your teeth.
- “Yeah? I got food between my teeth? Oh, I am saving it for later!”
Yeah. Whoever it is, we don’t like getting reminded that there’s food stuck in our teeth and we need to floss. A common perception about flossing is that it’s only function is to remove food stuck between the teeth. However, flossing also helps to remove plaque, the complex bacterial system that forms between and on the teeth which leads to inflamed gums and even dental loss. If you ask us, brushing and flossing are like peanut butter and jelly, they need to go together!
- “Flossing hurts and it makes my gums bleed!”
If flossing makes your gums bleed, chances are you have gum problems like inflammation or even early
Gingivitis. Stopping when you see blood is actually contrary to what you should do. It’s the plaque and germ buildup between your teeth which actually causes the bleeding. Brushing, flossing and rinsing regularly will help end the bleeding within a week or two.
- “My teeth are too close together, I can’t get any floss to go in there!”
Now that’s a lame one! Thanks to modern
orthodontic technology, there are a wide variety of flosses available for all type of teeth. Unless you have bridges, there is always floss made for you! Try going for waxed flosses or super slippery flosses made of Polytetrafluoroethylene which slide down the tightest places between your teeth.
Make flossing part of your daily routine!
If you don’t floss, you now know better. Feel free to
come and visit our practice for a consultation to find out the best way to take to care of your smile.
