Why Flossing is Essential for a Healthy Smile
Keep your teeth healthy through daily flossing
Have you ever wondered if the dentist can actually tell if you’ve flossed your teeth regularly when you go in for your bi-annual visit? The answer is a resounding YES! Your oral habits are obvious. The buildup of plaque is only one way that reveals your flossing habits. Others may include unhealthy and bleeding gums, bad breath, and even decreased heart function.
Flossing affects your gums, improves your smile, freshens your breath, prevents tooth decay between your teeth, and reduces your chance of developing heart disease. Flossing is an essential part of your oral and physical health. You need to floss to care properly for yourself and STAY healthy. Are you still not convinced to floss? Then allow the dental professionals at Snodgrass-King Dental to highlight the reasons why flossing is essential for keeping your smile bright and clean!
1. Flossing helps your gums stay healthy
One major reason to floss your teeth is to prevent plaque buildup. That buildup leads to tartar buildup, and that results in gum disease. You need to floss and remove the bacteria that grow from food particles that are left behind, which brushing alone can never reach. You will not only be removing large particles of food you can see and feel, but smaller particles that attach to the porous parts of your teeth and hide in the periodontal pockets, leading to gum loss and even bone loss. The result of losing gum and bone tissue is a loss of your teeth.
Restaurants have toothpicks to get the little pieces of food that may get stuck between your teeth, but removing those larger pieces alone is not enough to help your gums be healthy, pink, and beautiful. Flossing between the teeth and removing the smaller particles you can’t see is essential to good oral health.
Regular flossing creates healthy gum tissue. Healthy gum tissue supports bone and tooth structure. When you begin to floss, you may experience some bleeding. This is because you are new to this habit, and your gum tissue isn’t healthy yet. Don’t give up! Softly and gently bring your gums back to health through continuing regular, daily flossing.
2. Improves smile appearance by making your teeth whiter
Another key reason to floss is that it can actually help make your teeth look whiter. By removing the bacteria and plaque that begins to yellow your teeth, you will maintain a healthy, beautiful smile. This makes your teeth whiter and brighter than they would be without flossing, thus saving you time with expensive whiteners. Some floss is designed specifically to help whiten your teeth. These types of floss are coated with small, abrasive silica particles that will manually remove stains. Other whitening flosses are coated with calcium peroxide, and this will whiten teeth by dissolving the excess proteins that have been deposited on your teeth by your saliva.
It is recommended that you begin flossing your teeth, even on your primary teeth, as a child. Most specialists recommend that, as soon as your child has 2 teeth that touch, you should begin to encourage and help them begin a daily flossing regimen. When they become older, they can take over doing it themselves, but will have this life-saving habit already in place, and it will be second nature to them.
Flossing needs to be done correctly and thoroughly. All tooth areas need to be flossed, even behind the very back molar. Take the floss and run it down the backside of your very back tooth and get down into the gum tissue and remove the plaque and bacteria that love to live and grow in there. Rinse with a good mouthwash as well, and never forget to brush your teeth and tongue. Your dentist and hygienist will most assuredly be delighted to educate you on the proper way to floss and care for your teeth and gums. They are ready and willing to help you keep the teeth that serve you daily. Teeth are essential for a beautiful, winning smile.
3. Freshens your breath
Who doesn’t want to have fresh breath? When your breath smells good, you can keep your confident vibes going. One of the easiest ways to achieve this good smell is to floss your teeth. Getting those little pesky particles and bacteria out of your mouth is how to avoid that stinky smell. Keeping your teeth clean and your mouth fresh is what gives you that winning smile. So, stop popping mints all day long and start flossing your teeth. There are so many different floss options out there for you to choose from.
4. Stops tooth decay and prevents cavities
Tooth decay and cavities are no fun. They don’t even sound fun….When you choose to floss your teeth, any of the little candy slivers or other food particles caught between your teeth can be removed. If you leave those little particles in between your teeth, then they can cause cavities within two days. Make sure to avoid the dental drill by flossing your teeth at least once a day.
5. Reduces the chances of heart disease
Your gums play an important role in your dental care and in your overall health. Gum disease can lead to the breakdown of your gums, teeth, and bone tissue. This can impact your heart as well. When you get bacteria in your gum tissue, then in your bloodstream, the danger is that these bacteria will travel to your heart. Your body has to use a lot of the energy you could be using playing pickleball or hiking, just fighting off bacteria. It gives you more enjoyment in life since your heart is free of bacteria, which leads to heart disease. Researchers found that gum disease increases a person’s risk of heart disease by about 20 percent. To reduce your chances of heart disease, make sure to floss between each tooth daily to keep your teeth healthy. When you keep your gums healthy, it helps protect your heart.
How to Floss like a Pro
Flossing can be intimidating for some patients, especially children. It can feel awkward knowing how to hold the floss correctly so that it can easily reach and remove food particles between the teeth. Here is a quick step-by-step guide on how to floss:
- Wrap 15 to 25 inches of floss around your middle fingers, with about 2 inches left to work with.
- Pinch the floss between your thumb and index finger, keeping some tension or short length in between.
- Gently slide the floss between each tooth.
- Allow the floss to reach the sides of the tooth and gum line, think of creating a “C” like shape.
- Be sure to go gently beneath the gum line to reach any hidden bacteria or food particles.
- When you go to the next tooth, unroll the floss to get a fresh portion of the floss to use on the next tooth.
A few things to remember when flossing:
- Be gentle
- Don’t forget the back teeth, or molars
- Don’t reuse floss
- Stay consistent
If you’re a parent and your child is having a hard time flossing, try flossing with them step-by-step. Usually, seeing a visual of how flossing works can be helpful for children to mimic on their own!
Care for yourself and your teeth
There is no way around it. Flossing is essential to caring for your teeth and body. Now you know that your dentist knows, it’s only a matter of time before the people around you know, but most importantly, you know. You know you’ll feel better and have more energy. If you don’t believe it… Try it! Put all of these reasons to the test. Just see if you can feel a difference with daily flossing. Try it for 30 days straight. Do it and do it right. Take the time to take care of yourself.
Flossing FAQs
Which Foods Require You to Floss Your Teeth Immediately?
While it is best practice to brush and floss your teeth every time after you eat, there are certain foods that are more prone to getting stuck between your teeth, like:
- Popcorn: Getting and leaving stuck popcorn in teeth and gums could lead to tooth decay. IKernels stuck in your teeth and in between teeth and gums at times can go unnoticed. These hard pieces slowly scrape your gums and can embed further down in the gum as you chew. If these pieces of popcorn are left, they can become infected and harbor bacteria. So be sure to floss the next time you’re enjoying some buttery or salty popcorn.
- Spinach: Spinach can be good in a salad, but it’s not as good when it’s stuck between your teeth! Spinach can easily get stuck and stay hidden between teeth. Spinach can also create an uncomfortable, gritty feeling to the teeth due to its acidity, so it can be helpful to avoid that feeling by quickly flossing after a spinach salad or spinach dip!
- Meat: Meat can be tough and chewy, and can easily get stuck between teeth. If food, like meat, is left between your teeth, then the bacteria in your mouth can actually feed off it, resulting in cavities. Consider bringing a toothpick with you next time you go to your favorite burger stop or steak house!
In some cases, you may not be able to remove certain foods yourself, especially if they’re hidden or tucked away in between hard-to-reach spots of the tooth.. A dentist can help remove debris like this with a professional cleaning and administer medications if an infection has begun.
Should I Floss in the Morning or Night?
As a general rule of thumb, it is best practice to floss each night before bed. This ensures you’re removing any food particles from the day that can still be hidden between your teeth, even if your tongue can’t feel them.
But, there is no harm in flossing both morning and night, as long as you’re consistent!
What Type of Floss Should I Use?
There are a variety of types of floss to use, but the best type to use is one that you will be consistent with. Many dentists suggest traditional string floss with waxed floss being easier to reach tight spaces with, but unwaxed floss can do the job too.
Do Gums Recede If You Don’t Floss?
Yes, one result of not flossing consistently is a receding gum line. Since flossing helps to remove plaque and bacteria build up on the teeth, if they are not removed with flossing, then it can lead to gum disease. Further, the gums will start to pull away from the teeth, creating a gum recession.
When to Visit Your Dentist
If you have been inconsistent with flossing and notice any of the following oral health conditions, consider making a visit to your local dental office to get to the root cause (no pun intended!)
- If you feel pain in your mouth that isn’t alleviated with brushing and flossing
- If you can feel food particles lodged in your mouth that you can’t remove
- If your breath is chronically bad, even after brushing
- If you experience gum bleeding, this could be from an infection
Find Your Dentist at Snodgrass-King Dental Today
At Snodgrass-King, we know how critical flossing can be to your health. It is important to keep your mouth healthy so that you can stay healthy. We want to help you achieve the best kind of at-home oral health care that we can. If you have any questions on the best flossing practices, we encourage you to schedule a visit with one of our dental specialists today.
Snodgrass-King Dental Associates has 5 locations across Middle Tennessee (Mt. Juliet, Murfreesboro, Franklin, and Cool Springs). Contact us today to see if we can help jump-start and be a resource in your or your child’s healthy, dental lifestyle. We offer a variety of services for both children and adults. We can also address any orthodontic needs of children, teens, and adults. If you have any questions, call us today at (615) 771-1111.
