Don’t Forget to Floss

When visiting a dentist for a check-up, the hygienist comments, “It looks like you have not been flossing regularly.”  “Now how did she know that?” you think to yourself.  No your hygienist is not psychic, she just noted you have more tartar between your teeth than usual, which led her to believe you have slacked off on flossing your teeth every day.

Although flossing can be a time-consuming, rather awkward activity, to have healthy teeth, it should be an essential part of your daily cleaning routine.

Brushing your teeth alone cannot remove plaque to those areas between your teeth a tooth brush cannot reach.  When plaque remains, it will eventually harden into tartar.  Tartar is the substance your hygienist scrapes off your teeth during a cleaning appointment.  The less flossing you have performed, the longer your cleaning appointment will be.

Flossing not only removes plaque from in between teeth, but it also helps prevent gum disease and cavities as well.

Set and stick to a routine to make flossing an every day routine.  It doesn’t matter whether you floss day or night; pick a convenient time and then stick to that time.

Flossing at first can be a bit uncomfortable, but within a week or two, the discomfort should ease.  For those who find flossing difficult, try either a different type of dental floss or a new method of flossing.  A few other types of removing plaque from  teeth are a wooden plaque remover, dental pick or a pre-threaded flosser.  Have your dentist instruct you in the proper use of these devices to prevent injury.

It’s important to teach our children to floss at an early age to prevent the build-up of tartar on their teeth.  The ADA suggests those children who have two teeth touching should be having those teeth flossed by an adult daily.  When your child is older you can then teach him how to floss his own teeth.