How important is flossing?
Flossing your teeth is a part of your daily oral hygiene routine and it is as important as brushing your teeth to effectively remove plaque and bacteria.
Did you know that brushing teeth along still leaves approximately 35% of your tooth surfaces with plaque and bacteria?
Brushing is great at cleaning the front, back and chewing surfaces of your teeth but it misses the sides of the teeth as well as surfaces under the gum line.
Why should you be flossing your teeth?
Flossing is important to remove the plaque and bacteria which could lead to a host of health problems for the mouth and also your heart. See this video for more information Avoiding tooth decay
- Plaque will harden into tartar over time and can only be removed by professionals
- It can cause cavities
- It can lead to gum disease, bleeding, gingivitis and periodontitis
- Periodontitis has been strongly linked with causing heart disease due to inflammation
- Eventually cause tooth loss
How to floss your teeth?
There are many products that can help to remove plaque and bacteria on the market. Follow these instructions for how to floss your teeth:
- Wind approximately 40cm of floss around your middle or pinky finger for grip. This allows your index fingers and thumbs to control the floss in hard to reach angles and the back teeth.
- Keep your thumb and index fingers close together, approximately one tooth width apart, and gently glide it between your teeth under the gum line as far as it will reach without pressure or damaging the gums.
- Follow the “c” shape/contour of the tooth and slide it along the tooth up and down to clean both sides of the tooth.
- Don’t forget to floss the back of the molars as well.
If this is still tricky, you could use flossettes which are a handle with floss in between a fork.
Or interdental brushes like Piksters.
How often should you floss your teeth?
Flossing should be a part of your daily oral hygiene routine. Brushing twice a day and flossing your teeth once a day should be sufficient. Ideally flossing your teeth before brushing to allow fluoride from your toothpaste to reach those areas.
Having less plaque left on your teeth helps to lower the risk of developing gum disease, tooth loss or heart disease.
If you would like more guidance, contact us for an appointment and we would be happy to show you how to floss effectively.
