Flossing – the good, the great, and the Flossome!
You might brush every day, twice a day, and that might do very little to the plaque build-up in your teeth, so put your faith in flossing. Dental and oral care depends on more than just brushing your teeth twice daily. You also have to integrate flossing into your daily oral and dental care routine.
Many folks find the sensation of floss in between their teeth to be quite uncomfortable, and, as a result, avert from using dental floss as a part of their daily dental and oral routine. Brushing your teeth might not be enough to get rid of plaque and keep you safe from tooth decay. In order to reinforce your teeth against these issues, flossing ought to be a part of your daily routine. Doing so, you can keep that smile of yours white and pure while maintaining an optimum level of dental hygiene.
Food tends to end up in between your teeth, especially the starchy and sticky ones. These are the culprits when it comes to causing plaque build-up and ultimately, gum diseases. No wonder you see toothpicks in restaurants, as food getting in between your teeth doesn’t just give you an unsettling sensation, but is also bad for your overall dental health.
More often than not, you fail to notice the food that gets stuck in between your teeth. What’s more, you’ll brush and brush your teeth and still not entirely clean those spaces in between your teeth, but ultimately that’s where the problem lies. It is hard to flaunt a perfect smile with your pearly whites as these particles stain your teeth and make them look horrendous.
What does it do?
Let’s look at a great analogy: Say, you have 2 sweatshirts, one brown, and one white. Which one is more likely to show coffee stains? You guessed it right, the white one, obviously. Your teeth, if they are in constant contact with plaque, tend to stain with tartar. One effective way to remove the said stains would be to floss. Flossing daily would prevent any tartar buildup in your teeth, and give you the best smile possible.
We all know that one guy whom you would rather stay away from because every time he opens his mouth, ugh! Bad breath is a prevalent threat to general dental hygiene. One of the best ways to not be that guy would be flossing. Regular flossing gets rid of any food particle that is stuck in between your teeth, in turn cleansing your mouth from the bad breath.
How to floss?
If you are someone who is dental health-conscious, you would know for a fact that just brushing isn’t enough to keep your teeth clean. You HAVE to floss and you HAVE to do it RIGHT. Before we go into the how part of it, we will see the when part of it. Doing it before brushing your teeth would be ideal, as that gets rid of any remnant bacteria or plaque that comes out from in between your teeth, in turn making the cleaning process easier.
Flosses come in all shapes and sizes. Based on what works for you, you can choose your type of floss. It ranges from your standard thin, nylon floss, super flosses that help you in case you have braces on, to dental tape that comes in handy if you have gaps in between your teeth.
You can also make a choice as to getting flavored or non-flavored variants if need be, as those are widely available as well. Plus, there are also options to choose between wax-coated or non-wax-coated flosses.
You could even resort to floss picks that are daily disposable, as they are easy to use and also reach every nook and corner of your mouth that might be hard to reach with regular floss.
Another option when it comes to flossing is the electric water flosser which uses water pressure to remove the plaque from in between the teeth.
Now for the how part: Make sure to spend 5 to 10 minutes, thoroughly running the floss between every gap between the teeth to ensure perfect cleaning. Just doing it for the front teeth and being done with it is of no avail, as the risk of gum disease doesn’t go away as long as some semblance of plaque stays in your mouth.
Conclusion
Flossing is a practice that just cannot be ignored by anyone who makes a choice to be dental health-conscious. At face value, it might seem like a chore, but every minute that you do it is a minute that you prolong your teeth’ health. So make the right decision, and begin flossing today!
