All You wanted to know about Dental Flossing
24-04-2020 | Posted By: Shagun Parasher | 5459 View(s)
Your Dentist has been telling you to floss for years now, but you just seem to ignore his advice. If you didn’t follow what your Dentist kept saying till now, you are not the only person, you have got company. There are so many people just like you who do not care to follow the Dental Flossing routine after brushing their teeth. But we would like to let all the readers know how vital Flossing your teeth is, and about some severe damages floss picks can cause you.
Dental Flossing is time-consuming, which is why most people tend to avoid doing it on a regular basis. There might be some people who have not flossed their teeth even once in their lifetime and those who are irregular. Many people ask this question of whether Flossing is necessary at all. This article is to answer some of the queries related to Dental Flossing and how one should floss their teeth. Read on to find out more.
To go in for Dental Flossing or Not?
The Associated Press reviewed 25 studies, and they concluded that Flossing did not have any proven benefits. The United States Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Agriculture have even removed it from their good oral health. There are not many Indian studies on the same.So, if we go by guidelines and studies, Flossing is not necessary.
Should You Floss or Not?
Don’t make up your mind so fast. While the pieces of evidence on Flossing and reduced cavities are hazy, research conducted on the role of flossing in preventing gum diseases is very much evident. This is the reason why your dentist and hygiene experts keep on asking you to floss your teeth every day.
One study review found out that people who brushed and flossed their teeth regularly were less likely to have bleeding gums. They had lesser levels of gum inflammation, as well. Gum inflammation is caused by the food that is left in between the teeth. A toothbrush cannot get between the teeth and therefore, Flossing is recommended as it is the only way to remove the stuck food particles from your teeth. The benefits of Flossing have been discussed in this article. Keep reading to find more about it.
How Often Should You Floss?
Dentists suggest brushing twice a day for two-three minutes and flossing once. It takes about 24 hours for plaque to form in the mouth and brushing daily twice, and Flossing once daily disrupts the plaque buildup, also known as the biofilm. Flossing allows people to get rid of the bacteria between the teeth, which sometimes causes cavities, but most often causes gum problems such as gingivitis. Gum disease can cause bad breath, bleeding and swollen gums, loose and sensitive teeth and receding gums.
Therefore, you should floss every day without forgetting. Before, after, morning or night doesn’t matter as long as you do it at least once every day, you’re going to minimise the nasty bacteria clinging to your teeth.
But Why You Should Floss Every day?
We discussed the benefits of Flossing, in brief, earlier in this article. In this section, we will be talking about 5 reasons why you should floss every day.
1. Plaque buildup acts very soon
Plaque buildup takes place between hours of eating, and if you skip flossing and 48 hours have passed, this plaque starts hardening. Once it’s hardened, it can only be removed by professional cleaning.
2. Do it for your Gums
Seriously, do it for your gums, do it if you like your smile. Periodontal disease is not a primary cause for death, but unhealthy gums can increase the risk of other diseases and losing your teeth in early years. And you might think that brushing daily twice is enough or good oral health, but it’s not. Brushing alone may not prevent you from gum diseases and loss of teeth.
Another common mistake people make is thinking that Dental Flossing is not good if you have sensitive or bleeding gums. This fear is natural but as true as it is bleeding, gums can be cured through Flossing. It improves the health of your gums and thereby, preventing them from bleeding.
Flossing daily along with brushing and rinsing the teeth can help prevent gingivitis by removing plaque and stuck food particles in between the teeth, keeping your teeth and gums healthy.
3. Floss for Good Breath
Flossing can help you maintain fresh breath all day long. By removing the little food particles from in between and below the gum-lining helps in improving the breath.
4. Prevents expensive visits to the Dentist
Using a small piece of nylon string can help you avoid costly visits to your Dentist regarding tooth decay and gum problems. Flossing teeth is definitely cheaper than getting implants, right? It will definitely save some money.
5. Flossing boosts overall Body Health
Many health researches link general body health with good oral health. People with bad oral health predispose themselves to certain serious illnesses. Although there are decidedly less known cases, a person can face serious health problems such as heart attacks and stroke because of poor oral health. Merely flossing and cleaning teeth daily can bless you with a long and healthy life.
The benefits of Flossing are endless, but these were some. In the next section, we will be discussing the simple steps of Dental Flossing.
How to Floss: 7 Simple Steps of achieving a clean Mouth every day
1. Chose the best Floss for yourself
First and the most critical step of flossing your teeth is choosing the right Floss. There are several varieties available in the market, and you can choose anyone that you find useful.
Floss comes in two basic forms:
(a) Nylon- It is multi-filament Floss, i.e. it is made up of many strands of nylon fabric. This makes the Floss to be stringy and possible to breaking easily. It can be waxed or un-waxed.
(b) PTFE- this one is monofilament floss, i.e. single-stranded and stronger. This Floss makes it easy to clean the tightest of spaces.
2. Cut the Floss and Wrap it around your Fingers
The first step is cutting the Floss into a manageable length which is about 18 inches. Now wrap a few turns of Floss around the middle finger of your dominant hand.
As you use the Floss, you will unspool clean Floss from your hand and wrap the used Floss into your dominant hand.
3. Place your fingers
In this step, you have to use your two fingers to use the Floss inside your mouth. Press against the Floss with your finger pads and direct it between as needed. Change the grip as necessary.
4. It is time to insert the Floss
With utmost care, insert the Floss between your teeth in sawing motion. It should be light, and this is the only time when you have to use the sawing motion. Once the Floss is in between the teeth, you will feel a little snap. When you do, do not continue sawing as doing so can damage your gums.
Now, slide the Floss gently against the tooth surface and under the gum line until you feel a little stop. This area is a bit difficult to clean with Floss, but be gentle, do not be hard on your teeth.
It is necessary to note that if you recently have not flossed or your gums are inflamed, they may be painful and bleed lightly. But you do not have to stop because of a little bleeding; it just indicates that gentle and more Flossing is required. If the bleeding is too much, you must consult your Dentist ASAP. You must know that a nice clean mouth never bleeds.
5. Begin the real Dental Flossing
Now, for the next step, you need to curve the Floss against your tooth surface to maximise the contact between the Floss and your teeth. Now rub it up and down against the tooth surface. This could be simply understood as making a ‘C’ around the tooth and moving up and down in slow motion. Work all your teeth, in the same way, one by one, without hurting your gums.
Pop the Floss back out between the teeth. This will remove any dislodged debris and move along to the next area.
6. Move to the Back of your mouth
It is best to start from one tooth and move to another one by one so that you don’t miss even a single tooth. Be sure that you include molars at the end as well. Gum diseases and tooth decay frequently occur on the Back of your teeth. It can be a little difficult getting back there, but you cannot miss this.
Gently slide the Floss between your end molars and gums, and very carefully pull both the ends of the Floss towards you as you agitate the area.
7. It is time for Rinsing
After you are done flossing, rinse your mouth to remove any stray particles that were nearly dislodged from the gums or those you were not able to remove while flossing. This will also make your mouth clean and fresh.
Things to keep in mind while Flossing
We have discussed in detail, the steps of Flossing. It is time that we also talk about a few things you should keep in mind regarding Flossing.
1. Do not Overdo it
Take a chill pill and do not floss too much thinking that you will get shiny white teeth today only. Overdoing it can potentially harm your teeth as well as gums.
2. Gums will Bleed
If you are doing it for the first time, it is very much possible that your gums will bleed. Do not get worried as it is natural. If the bleeding is continuous and significant, you must visit a dentist.
3. It takes Time
We hope you did not expect to get bright and shiny teeth today itself. It is a slow process, and it takes time to produce results.
4. Do not skip Dental Flossing even once
Flossing your teeth is equally as important as brushing. Brushing twice a day alone will not give results as brushing and flossing combined will. So you should not skip flossing even once a day as per our recommendation.
5. There is no fixed time for Flossing
Last but not least, Flossing can be done at any time of the day. There is no fixed timing for doing so. Just grab a strand of dental Floss and start flossing whenever you are free.
Also, some people like to do it after brushing while some want to do it before. It all depends on personal preferences; however, after brushing at night, after your dinner, is what we recommend.
This was about some of the most common questions on Dental Flossing. We tried to cover as many queries about flossing in this blog. We also discussed the steps to do it and some of the things you should keep in mind while and about Flossing. We hope you find this article helpful. Stay happy and do not forget to Floss today.
