Flossing Your Teeth

A Guide To Flossing Your Teeth

A practice of good dental hygiene includes regular flossing. This is just as important as brushing your teeth. Flossing is used in removing accumulated plaque on your teeth. This practice is important because flossing gets in hard to reach places between your teeth. As the buildup of plaque can cause cavities and gum disease, daily flossing is highly recommended. As important as this is for good dental hygiene, most people do not know how to floss properly.

Read the short guide below to find how to floss properly

Step I

Get about 16-18 inches of floss

Step II

The floss should be held with the thumb and forefinger of both hands

Step III

-Roll about 14-16 inches of floss around each middle finger, leaving some inches between your fingers.

Step IV

-Holding the floss

Never force the floss against the gum as it can cut or bruise delicate gum tissue.

Step VII

Use a new part of the piece of floss for each tooth to be cleaned because if you do not you will be spreading plaque from one tooth to the other instead taking out the plaque .

Step VIII

To Remove the floss, gradually slide the floss backwards, removing it from between the teeth. Make sure you avoid scraping your gum with the floss.

Using the right type of floss is just as important as knowing how to floss because there are different types of floss having different flavours. Your dentist should help you out if you are unsure of which floss to use. The ones mentioned below are the commonest;

Nylon thread (or multifilament)

Because this type of floss is composed of many strands of nylon, it may sometimes tear or shred, especially if the teeth are too close together. PTFE wire (monofilament)

While more expensive, single filament yarn (PTFE) slides easily between teeth, even with little space, and does not break. Used appropriately the two types of floss remove plaque and food