Keeping our teeth clean is something most of us learned from an early age. The routine typically includes getting up each morning and brushing our teeth to start off the day. If you follow your dentist’s recommendations, you always brush twice a day, avoid sugary snacks between meals, and also keep up with semi-annual teeth cleanings and any other dental work suggested by your dentist. Doing all of this, do you still have to floss your teeth?
Flossing is more than just an extra precaution. When you are dedicated to the future health of your teeth, you go that extra step to keep your teeth clean. Brushing twice a day by adding in that cleaning before bed is a good start. Yet flossing removes plaque in places a brush can’t reach, like the small gaps between teeth and under the gums.
Flossing is probably your single most important weapon against plaque. Plaque is the clingy bacterial film that sticks to the surfaces of your teeth and is the principal cause of tooth decay. Plaque is also the leading cause of gum disease, bad breath, and other maladies. Brushing and flossing aides in keeping cavities, gum disease and other oral issues at bay. Like anything though, there is an optimal way to floss your teeth if you’d like to get the most benefit.
Here are the steps required to properly floss your teeth and why taking these steps is important.
Choose the Best Tool to Floss Your Teeth
You want to remove plaque, food and other particles stuck in between the teeth that brushing alone cannot remove. Most Americans have used ‘unusual items’ to remove food stuck between their teeth, including: fingernails (61%); folded paper or cards (40%); cutlery (21%, fork, knife, or spoon); safety pins (14%) and even strands of hair (7%) .
In addition to being less effective than traditional flossing tools, these items can be harmful. Instead, stick to using tools designed for cleaning between teeth like dental picks, string floss, and water flossers. Try different options until you find the one that works best for you. For example, dental picks might help you get to hard-to-reach places. Water flossers are a good option if you have braces or permanent bridge dental work that makes flossing difficult. Whether you’re using traditional string-style floss or the plastic bow style dental floss pick, it’s good to practice in front of a mirror to ensure you’re getting in between the teeth.
Use Proper Form When Flossing
With string floss, the idea is to move it between the teeth all the way into the gum line. Clearing food away from the gum line helps to keep gums healthy. You should let the string go just under the gum and move it around to loosen debris. Never yank downward but instead allow the string to come through vertically through the backside of the tooth until the whole string is removed. With the pick, you can use the pointy end to work your way in between each tooth and pull out any stuck particles.
Proper Flossing Technique Using String Floss
- Use an 18 inches long piece of floss. Wind it around the index or middle finger of both hands so there is about a gap of around three or four inches between your hands. Use different combinations of your thumbs and fingers to correctly guide the floss between your teeth.
- When you guide the floss gently into the space between your teeth, try not to snap the floss into your gums as you’re inserting it. Use a side-to-side sawing motion only to get the floss between the teeth. Slide the floss up and down to clean the space between your teeth.
- Make sure you floss each side of the teeth separately so as not to injure the gum tissue between your teeth. Run the floss up and down the surface of the tooth, making sure you are going down to the gum line and then up to the top of the tooth. Apply pressure with your fingers away from the gum triangle, letting it curve around the side of the tooth forming the letter “C” with the floss.
- Slide the floss out from between the teeth. Unwind a little new floss from one finger, and take up the used floss on the other finger.
- Repeat the process on the next space between teeth. Work all around the mouth — and don’t forget the back sides of the last molars.
Other Tips
It’s important to use floss in a timely fashion. After you complete a meal, take the time to floss away debris that may be caught so the harmful bacteria and acids aren’t eating away at the tooth’s enamel and causing cavities or other issues. If your gums bleed or you are unable to get the floss in between the tooth spacing, you should talk to your Bethel dentist.
