Flossing is Essential
Flossing: It’s Essential!
It is mentioned every time you go to the dentist…Flossing is incredibly beneficial to your oral hygiene. Some people think brushing their teeth is enough; others simply can’t stand flossing. As your dental provider, we want to make sure you know flossing is great for your health.
How Flossing Benefits Your Health
35% of tooth surfaces are missed when you just clean your teeth and don’t floss. Floss helps get in between those places that are hard to get to. Flossing ensures a full cleaning after brushing your teeth.
Daily flossing can:
- Prevent cavities. Flossing removes not only the leftover food debris in your mouth, but gets out the plaque too! This prevents a cavity from forming between the teeth, which is a common place for tooth decay.
- Fights bad breath. Leaving the food debris stuck in between your teeth can release a bad smell. Yuck!
- Prevents tartar buildup and gum disease. Plaque, when left onto teeth for too long, hardens into tartar which can only be removed by a dental professional. Tartar’s presence can lead to gum disease and even tooth loss!
- Improve appearance. Food debris and plaque doesn’t make a smile look good. Clean and healthy teeth make a smile shine bright!
After years in the dental industry, we know that flossing makes a huge difference in not only your oral health, but your overall health too!
You Must Do It Correctly For Flossing to Work
To get the benefits of flossing, you have to make sure you floss the correct way. A study from 2006 investigated whether flossing done at home reaped the same benefits of having it done by professionals. Researchers found that the professionally flossed teeth had a 40% decrease in the risk of cavities than the people who flossed at home. The study showed that flossing done properly has a very positive effect on oral health.
When flossing, make sure you curve the floss around the tooth, as if the floss was hugging it. While it is “hugging” the tooth, move the floss up and down to get the plaque off the tooth. Repeat this process throughout the whole mouth.
Try the Flossing Challenge!
We are challenging you to floss daily in the way described above. You will notice the difference!Questions about flossing? Call or visit us today!
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