The Best Way to Properly Floss Your Teeth
'Flossing' is an important part of your dental routine. In other words, it is an important oral hygiene habit. However, several people are not aware of the right method to floss correctly. In this article, you will learn the five (5) steps to floss adequately.
It cleans teeth interdentally as the food particles that are stuck in between teeth and cannot be removed with brushing can be easily cleared with the help of floss. Though flossing is not a common practice and has its own side effects, also if not done properly it can lead to damage to gums and teeth. Let's delve into the importance of flossing and the steps to a 'perfect floss life'.
Here are the five (5) steps to floss perfectly:
1. Take about 10-20 inches of dental floss.
2. Wind both ends to the middle finger of both hands leaving only 1-2 inches for your teeth.
3. Place it in between 2 teeth and glide up-and-down gently. Also, do not touch the gums.
4. When you reach the gums, curve the floss to enter the space between the gums & teeth gently (again) without harming your gums.
5. Repeat with every tooth and with each tooth, use a new section of the floss.
Brush your teeth regularly followed by floss for those pearly whites. Many find flossing a very technical process and if not done properly it leads to gaps between teeth. More gaps between the teeth have been observed in those who floss regularly but not correctly as compared to those who don't.
Flossing is much better than using toothpicks to clean the gaps between the teeth. Toothpicks mean total damage to your teeth so flossing is an excellent option. Interdental brushes too are good to use. Another effective method is water flossing which is a new age solution to maintain oral hygiene.
It is a non-touch method that can help clean debris and other food particles stuck in between the teeth. It is a blessing for those who have implants, crowns, bridges and artificial teeth. Consult your dentist to help you choose the best water floss according to your oral health.
Medically it is proven that dental flossing helps the soft tissue in two ways:
1. It prevents gingivitis that is infection and inflammation of the gums results in bleeding.
2. It prevents periodontitis that is an infection of bone and ligament around the teeth which can further lead to tooth loss.
So, if done properly and used proper technique flossing can be a blessing otherwise it can lead to the gaps between teeth and then food impaction in between teeth.
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