Benefits of Using Dental Floss
Dental floss is a thread made from nylon or plastic. You can buy floss that’s waxed or unwaxed, depending on your preference. Waxed dental floss, because of the smooth, slick coating, will tend to get between teeth easier, even if they’re fairly close together.
How To Use Dental Floss & Why
Dental floss is designed to clean the surfaces of the tooth. While incorrectly used floss is better than not flossing at all, if you use it incorrectly you miss most of the benefits of flossing. Many people simple pop the floss between the teeth quickly. This will dislodge any larger particles of food that are between the teeth, but it doesn’t clean the surface as it was intended to do. To floss effectively only takes a few more seconds than doing it incorrectly, and you reap the benefits of better dental hygiene.
Slip the floss between the teeth and push it down toward the gum as far as you comfortably can. Slide it into the slot between the gum and the tooth so that the floss lies beneath the gum line. Pull it so that it’s firmly against the side of the tooth and pull it up, effecting scraping the surface of the tooth. Push the floss down between the adjacent tooth and the gum and pull it up in the same way, so that you’re cleaning both edges of two teeth. Then move the floss between your next two teeth, repeat the procedure, and repeat this throughout your whole mouth.
The dental floss removes the plaque between the teeth that typical brushing misses. It’s important to remove the plaque before it hardens and becomes tartar, which can lead to gingivitis and advanced periodontal disease. This can lead to receding gums, infections, bone loss and eventually tooth loss.
Bleeding Gums
Many people will floss for the first time in a long time, or ever, and stop because their gums bleed. If your gums bleed when you floss it could be because you’re flossing incorrectly and making them bleed. Follow the good procedure above to be sure you’re flossing the side of the tooth from below the gum line to the top without putting pressure on your gums.
If you’re practicing good technique, wait for a week or two. It’s most likely that lack of flossing has taken its toll and your gums need to heal. After a couple of weeks, if your gums still bleed when you use dental floss then visit your dentist. A thorough cleaning can help eliminate the problem. Most likely you have plaque and tartar built up at the gum line that’s irritating the gums and making them sensitive.
Benefits of Flossing
When plaque first develops on a tooth, a tiny plastic thread can easily scrape it off. But if you don’t floss it away and it hardens, it becomes tartar that requires a dental hygienist to scrape off with a metal tool. Using dental floss daily reduces the likelihood that you’ll have gingivitis or periodontal problems which have been linked to heart disease and poor overall health.
