What is dental floss used for?

I. What is dental floss used for?

Dental floss is a cord of thin nylon threads or plastic treads that is used to physically remove food debris and dental bacteria from little gap among teeth where is impossible for toothbrush to reach. In addition to dental brushing, flossing is another efficient way to clean your oral cavity and protect the oral health for you. It is generally accepted by in the dentistry that flossing is really necessary.

Flossing at the right time also contributes to better oral care. It’s generally recommended to use the dental floss before tooth brushing. Flossing helps get food debris and bacteria away from the teeth and tooth brushing helps get them out of the mouth. Therefore, it can reduce the risk of tooth decay and gum disease.

Sometimes, floss smells bad after use. It’s a signal that your oral condition is not that god and should be paid more attention for improvement.

Interdental brushes can’t be used if there’s not enough room between the teeth. Flossing with thin floss works better.

II. Proper Flossing

Flossing before tooth brushing at night is rather important, as the food debris left in the oral cavity can cause more diseases overnight. So it’s better to bed with the clean oral cavity and fresh breath.

Dentists recommend at least once a day. If you want, it’s ok to handle the flossing twice per day, but you need to do the flossing in the right way. Too much force may cause potential damages to the teeth and gums. Too little force may cause failure in removing the foreign things. Remove the food debris among the teeth after each meal is also ok if handling the flossing correctly. It’s the thorough cleaning that really matters.

It’s a good habit of regular flossing. However, the fact is that, different from daily tooth brushing, not so many people form a good habit of regular flossing.

Helpful instructions for flossing:

1. Hold the floss holder and put the floss between two teeth and move it along both sides of thin gap up and down. But remember not to use too force to avoid scratching the gums. 

2. Slightly bend the floss close to the bottom of the teeth and clean the tiny gap there.

3. Do the flossing to each tooth in the same way.

Besides the regular brushing and tongue scraping, flossing is of great importance to dental health, too.

People who do the flossing for the first time may feel uncomfortable, but within a week or two, they will get used to this daily dental procedure.

Of course, an overall oral check once or twice a year will make it perfect for dental health. If there is a difficulty in flossing, consult your dentist for useful advice or instructions. 

III. What are the side effects of dental floss? 

Flossing is always taken as a significant part of oral care and important oral hygiene practice. But there’s still a risk that flossing may bring damages to gums or teeth or infect the oral cavity with bacteria.

In order to better clean the teeth, some people act roughly with much force. It’s a wrong action that may cause the abrasion of the enamel of teeth. Furthermore, there’s a risk that it may cause periodontal bone loss and may get teeth loose.

Cavities, plaque or gum disease can be prevented from the beginning if you do the flossing in a proper way.

IV. Other Options

There’re other choices for flossing like electric flosser or water flosser. Electric flosser uses pressure while water flosser uses pressure to remove food debris left on the teeth.

Floss holders, or called disposable floss picks, are getting widely used by people. It’s much easier than flossing by holding the floss tightly (that may make your fingers painful).