Is Dental Flossing Really Necessary as A Daily Practice?

What Is Dental Flossing? 

It is the process of cleaning the hard-to-reach parts of your mouth using a special tool called dental floss. It mimics a thin string that accesses the tight spaces between your teeth to remove food residue and plaque. Dental floss also removes plaque near the gum line that may hide over time.

Why Is Brushing Not Enough? 

Over the years, people have over-sensitized teeth brushing as the best measure to keep up with oral hygiene. While it is an incredible tooth for maintaining a clean mouth is often insufficient. Teeth brushing does not always address the areas between your teeth, or at least not as well as it should. Therefore, you can still have plaque forming in your oral cavity even after brushing your teeth.

Besides, few people grasp the right technique for brushing their teeth. Brushing your teeth for 30 seconds twice daily is insufficient to keep your mouth clean. Further, if your toothbrush is old or of poor quality, it gets very little done regarding oral hygiene.

How to Know that Teeth Brushing Is Not Sufficient

When you visit a dentist near you in Longmont, (s)he will highlight the following signs of poor oral hygiene, despite brushing your teeth twice daily:

1. Unhealthy gums – reddened, swollen, and bleeding gums indicate that your teeth brushing has not kept your mouth healthy.
2. Bad odor despite teeth brushing – is a sign that you have decayed teeth, infected gums, or plaque buildup in some spaces in your mouth.
3. Foul taste in your mouth – sometimes saliva can pick out part of the plaque in your mouth, and you have a bad taste. The taste is evidence that your teeth brushing has not cleaned your mouth well.
4. Yellowing teeth – the most common reason for yellow teeth is poor oral hygiene. Sometimes patients who brush their teeth daily can be shocked that they have yellow teeth. While many factors could explain why your teeth are yellow, the biggest one is poor oral hygiene.

How to Optimize Oral Hygiene 

Just because dental experts say that brushing is insufficient to keep your mouth does not mean you give it up altogether. Instead, consider the following tips as ways to achieve excellent oral hygiene through teeth brushing:

1. Routine dental cleanings – visiting us at Fox Creek Dental by Espire – Longmont works to your advantage in your want to excel in oral hygiene. Routine professional cleanings entail special teeth brushing with electronic-powered toothbrushes and high-quality cleansers. Besides, it entails professional flossing that addresses the spaces between your teeth.
2. Brush your teeth at least twice daily. Replace your toothbrush every three months to ensure it is in the best shape. Better yet, change to an electronic toothbrush for better cleaning.
3. Use the right toothpaste that offers ample abrasion while restoring minerals to your enamels.
4. Floss daily – flossing removes the food particles your toothbrush cannot reach.

How to Floss Like a Professional

1. Floss before brushing your teeth. This way, all the plaque you remove from between your teeth will be cleansed when you brush your teeth.
2. Floss daily – do not skip flossing even though you brush your teeth thrice a day. Besides, you only need to floss once.
3. Use enough floss – when the floss is too small, you won’t have a good grip on it to clean your teeth properly. Ensure you have about 45 cm of floss to start flossing.
4. Be gentle yet thorough – seeing blood from your gums is not a sign that you have flossed well. Instead, floss your teeth without hurting your gums. The technique should involve holding the string of floss between your thumb and your forefinger, then slowly and steadily running it between your teeth. Use steady strokes to target the area below the gum line.
5. Use the right dental floss – different dental floss are available in the market. While all options can get the job done, some are better for you than others. Some factors to consider when choosing the right dental floss are:
   • Amount of teeth spacing in your mouth. If you have crowded teeth, you need very thin dental floss.
   • Existing oral devices – for example, if you have braces, you need a different dental floss from a patient with dental implants.