Close

Why and How do I Floss?

February 25, 2019 Dentistry, Orthodontic Blog dental, dentist, dentistry, dentists, Navy Yard, Washington D.C.

series of asian woman flossing teeth with oral PBLKJXM 1024x683 - Why and How do I Floss?

This is not about a dance the kids are doing these days! The flossing we’re talking about may not be as much fun as dancing, but it is very important to your dental health and longevity. When we were younger, we were told, “Only floss the teeth you want to keep!” The meaning is that if you want to keep all of your teeth, you should regularly floss them. It may be a pain in the neck and it may take longer than you want to give it, but trust us – that old dentist was correct. Flossing is something you definitely want to do and add to your daily dental health routine. Flossing also encourages gum health which is, according to a new study, very important to your mental health as a link between gum disease and Alzheimer’s has recently been discovered.

The first thing you want to do in order to floss well is to choose the kind of dental floss you want to use. There are all kinds and we recommend a simple waxed nylon floss that you can get at any supermarket or pharmacy. There are other good alternatives and if you want to check those out, by all means, check them out. We recognize that for some folks, it’s hard to get to the teeth in the very back so we also recommend getting a toothbrush-like handle in which you can put floss or a floss cartridge in order to get all the way back there. Take out about 18” of floss, wrap the ends around your index fingers and begin to gently go between the teeth up to the gum line being careful not to jam the floss into the gums which will make them bleed. The goal is to get rid of food particles and calcium (tartar) build up from between the teeth.

If flossing is a new practice for you, but one you want to build into your healthy daily routine, we at Capitol Dental would love to help you learn and practice. We have skilled hygienists and amazing dentists who want your teeth to last for decades. We’ll show you how to floss. All you have to do is schedule an appointment.