How Often Should I Use Dental Floss?

How Often Should I Use Dental Floss?

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Sometimes we believe that dental floss and brush our teeth three times a day with a high-level toothpaste is more than enough.

The truth is that although this is important, there are other healthy and necessary ways to take care of our dental hygiene and one of them is to floss your teeth.

According to some sources, the credit for the invention of dental floss as we know it today goes to Levi Spear Parmly.

A dentist from New Orleans who came with an idea of dental floss in 1815.

The idea could arise due to the need to maintain a good oral hygiene.

Native Americans are known for using creative ways to keep their mouths relatively clean. Even using animal bones as toothpicks in order to pull out food stuck in their teeth.

Nowadays, you can use Dental Floss to reaching those spots that we can’t reach with our regular toothbrush.

Is a cord of thin filament used to remove food and dental plaque from between teeth.

Some foods tend to get stuck between teeth.

Some people can get anxious getting out the rest of food quickly looking for practical ways of getting them out.

Putting thin objects between their teeth to do it for instance.

Anything that is close can works, putting it in their teeth in order to extract what was stuck.

But this can be a terrible idea.

If you put objects between your teeth that you shouldn’t, you can damage the enamel of your teeth.

And you can even cause severe cracks.

To avoid these damages, it is good that you know the benefits of dental floss.

That can help you with those difficulties removing those food remains that can sometimes hurt the gums.

Types of Dental Floss

Dental floss

Just like toothpaste, which now comes in numerous presentations, sizes, flavors, utilities, among other factors to choose.

Dental floss also comes in different presentations to choose too.

If you are part of the statistics of the Americans who don’t floss.

Probably you are not even questioning what type or brands of dental floss are there.

But it doesn’t matter, in this post, we are going to talk about some of them.

Specialized plastic wands and floss picks, which by the way came in many different colors and sizes, are attached to a dental floss dispenser.

And you don’t have to use your fingers to floss. But apparently, there is the traditional way to do it.

You have the waxed floss, the one that comes with flavor, the one that comes without taste, the one that does not bring any wax, among others.

Do not worry about having to think a lot about your decision; no scientific evidence shows that the type of dental floss use gives specific benefits.

At the end what it matters is that it fulfills the main function.

Also, there are the ones that came with a toothpick included; this is pretty useful if you are on a date for example.

And you don’t have your toothbrush with you.

They are very small, and you can keep those in your pocket, you can find them in any store in San Diego or here in Clairemont.

As has happened with toothbrushes, you can now find your electric floss.

Not everyone likes the idea of using them, but it is an option that you can have in case you are attracted to them.

Why Floss?

dental floss

As we said at the beginning of this post, using dental floss is essential for our oral health.

Not only does it keep dental plaque and food waste out of our teeth, but it’s also to prevent some dental issues.

Dentists usually recommend brushing the teeth at least twice a day.

When you get up and when you go to sleep. When it comes to flossing, they support the idea of at less use it once a day.

For some people, this may not be so practical, but come on, with the size of dental floss presentations it’s straightforward to take it with you everywhere.

If your gums bleed or are sensitive, you can ask your dentist what is your best option when choosing and flossing.

The mouth is part of the body, and it also deserves to be given care and attention.

In addition to food debris, dental floss can also prevent the appearance of tartar and eliminate dental plaque.

The toothbrush can do it too, but with the help of floss, you will achieve even better results.

Dental Cleaning

When it comes to taking care of our oral health, we have to worry about almost every detail.

One of these is visiting our dentist regularly. This can be every six months if you do not have a specific dental problem.

Remember that your dentist in San Diego is Serena Family & Cosmetic Dentistry.

You can do it as a prevention to future dental pleasures.

With the busy life that we have these days, we may believe that we do not have enough time to visit our dentist.

Without knowing that not to go can bring us more significant consequences.

It’s hard to believe, but maintaining proper oral hygiene can be the key to keeping teeth and gums healthy.

So if you have not considered going to the dentist because you swear that everything is fine.

You should believe that teeth cleaning should be done at least once a year.

Many people see their mouth as something separate from the rest of the body.

So some people don’t even pay attention to it until the day when they need a tooth decay until a tooth hurts horrible or when they have some other dental problem derived from poor oral health care.

In fact, some dental problems can lead to other issues or diseases that spread to other parts of the body.

That is why you should not let pass months or even years before taking the initiative to go to your dentist at least for a dental cleaning.

We are not kidding when we tell you that there are some people that even having pain in a tooth.

They often prefer to wait for a painkiller to relieve them, instead of going to see the dentist.

Delaying it will not remedy it, in fact, it will make it worse.

Why is so important to have an oral cleansing?

Our body sends us signals when invaders are inside our body.

This is also how our mouth warns us when something is not right.

Or when there is something stuck between teeth that definitely is not a cordial guest to stay where it is.

We are sure that it has happened to you.

Having to deal with the remains of popcorn stuck in your teeth or a piece of lettuce from the lunch.

That ends up being seen by all your coworkers without anyone telling you.

Those uncomfortable moments can be avoided if you tend to have dental care.

Dental brushes, no matter how advanced or electrical, cannot remove all the plaque or dirt from the teeth completely.

As we said at the beginning of this post, there are areas where a toothbrush is unable to reach.

That is why it is recommended to also use dental floss.

Of course, it is important to go from time to time for a professional dental cleaning that will help to remove all that extra plate.

How to Floss?

You have to know how to floss, this may sound funny, but there are proper ways to use it.

Just as there are ways to brush your teeth (because there are), there are ways to floss properly too.

We will not give you a complete tutorial on how you should actually do it.

Because it is not like putting together an impossible puzzle, but we will provide you with some tips.

First of all, you must choose the one you like most, either in presentation with toothpick included or traditional one.

The most common advice is that you need to pull 18 to 24 inches of this dental floss (if you go for the conventional way).

And then wrap the ends to your fingers, right around your index and middle fingers.

For some people, using dental floss involves passing it between the front teeth, and that’s it, but that’s not how it works.

Flossing must go through everywhere, including the teeth that are located back of the mouth.

We agree that this will not be entirely simple or comfortable, but that is the way it works

There really is not a perfect way to use it, but use it. It is not expensive to acquire it, and it will not take you more than 5 minutes doing it.

Improving Smiles

Serena Dental Implants girl smilingA fantastic smile is not always a natural quality.

On many occasions, having a beautiful and healthy smile involves taking care of things as simple as brushing your teeth at least twice, using extras like flossing.

We are not kidding; everything starts with something as simple as this.

Maybe you think that having a perfect smile like the Hollywood stars is a challenge that involves having a lot of money.

Indeed, that has some truth at some point.

For a movie star smile you may need more than dental floss, but at least you have already begun to give importance to the issue of taking care of your teeth.

Remember that you can always invest in your smile.

We see it as an investment, because believe it or not, having a beautiful smile speaks wonders of you.

Your smile or your teeth is your business card and is the first thing that people see on you.

Especially if your work involves meetings with many people or customer service.

As you can see, having a proper dental hygiene can bring you good benefits.

Every day there are more reasons to take care of your smile and more ways to achieve it.

 

Author

  • Dr. Serena Aparicio, DDS, is a highly accomplished dentist specializing in cosmetic and implant dentistry. With over 23 years of experience worldwide, Dr. Aparicio has established herself as a leading expert in her field. Fluent in both English and Spanish, she has practiced dentistry in several countries, including the USA, Canada, Germany, China, England, France, South Korea, Turkey, and Costa Rica.

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