It may be just a simple piece of string, but dental floss is way more! It’s extremely important to floss to maintain healthy teeth & gums for your entire life. When you don’t floss you miss about 30% of the bacteria on your teeth that are in your gum line that can cause gum disease over time. Do you floss daily? Here are a few tips so you can floss like a boss!
According to the ADA only 50.5% of Americans floss daily and 31% report that they floss less than daily and then 18% said they have never floss. Woah! Why should you floss? Although brushing is an important part of cleaning your teeth you miss the parts that your toothbrush bristles can’t reach. When not cleaned completely the left-over bacteria will turn into plaque which will cause tooth decay and gum disease. It’s important to floss daily and not just right before your dentist appointment with Philly Dentistry.
I’m sure you’re probably thinking yes flossing is easy, but there is a proper technique to flossing to ensure your teeth are clean and healthy. The first step is to use about shoulder length or around 18 inches of floss. Wrap it around your middle finger with the rest around your opposite middle finger. The next step is to pinch the floss between your thumbs and fingers and gently insert the floss between your teeth and rock back and forth to get under each side of the gums. The third step is to rub the floss gently up and down and side to side keeping it pressed against the tooth. Don’t jerk or snap the floss. Finally, floss all your teeth using a new piece of the 18inches of floss so you aren’t transferring bacteria from tooth to tooth. Don’t forget to floss all the way in the back even if it’s a little bit more difficult to reach. The most cases of tooth decay and gum disease happen in the back teeth first because people tend to miss them.
Now that you know the importance and proper way to floss, I hope you realize how important it is in your oral hygiene. Give us a call today to schedule your free new patient consultation and let us help you maintain healthy teeth and gums for life. 215-568-6222. info@phillydentistry.com. Or follow us on social media to stay up to date with all the latest news our office has to offer. @PhillyDentistry.