Importance of Flossing

Good dental hygiene takes more than just brushing your teeth. Flossing everyday in addition to brushing will increase your oral health while decreasing all of the unwanted bacteria, plaque along the gum line, and decreasing your chances of having periodontal disease (gum disease). Unfortunately, people are uninformed when it comes to flossing. People have admitted to flossing their teeth with their own hair (ew!) and as Dr. Nigel Carter reports, even using random instruments around the house such as "needles, keys, screwdrivers and earrings" to pick at their teeth.

Why should I floss?
Flossing is exercised to actually clean the tooth surfaces that your tooth brush cannot reach, not the spaces inbetween teeth. There are numerous flosses to choose from, including waxed and unwaxed, flavored or unflavored, and regular floss or tape. You should consult your dentist to learn what the best type of floss is for you.

Flossing can add years to your life. As reported by Dr. Michael F. Roizen, routine flossing can add six years to one's life. This is because you are removing the bacteria that causes periodontal diseases. If the bacteria is left to accumulate, the immune system may start to attack the bacteria, which ages your arteries. Flossing removes the bacteria that can cause various cardiovascular diseases and has been tested on people with various diseases showing results that those with good oral hygiene were coping with their disease better than those who did not take care of their teeth and mouth.

How do I floss?
Flossing may seem difficult at first, but by putting it into your regular dental routine you will quickly pick up a technique that works best for you. You should floss before brushing once a day. Flossing will loosen up all the plaque, bacteria and other debris your toothbrush would not be able to reach otherwise. When you follow flossing with brushing you will effectively remove the unwanted material.

1. Begin with about 18 inches of floss.
2. Wrap floss around your middle fingers, leaving about an inch to pinch tightly in between your forefingers.
3. Gently work the floss between your teeth. Make sure you do not snap the floss because this could damage the soft gum tissue.
4. Once the floss is in between your teeth, work in a 'C' shape around the tooth. Move the floss to go slightly below the gum line to reach all of the plaque lining the base of the tooth.
5. Scrape both sides of each tooth. As you move to the next tooth to clean, progress to a clean piece of the floss.

These steps are animated at SimpleSteps to Better Dental Health and Flossing Tips.

Brushing Break-down

Although brushing your teeth may seem to take no thought at all, it is important to review the proper techniques. You may be surprised to find out that your good intentions of brushing may actually be harming your mouth. While brushing your teeth is healthy and helps your teeth and gums stay healthy, you must exercise the proper etiquette to make your time worth while.

What is the Proper way to Brush?
*Hold your toothbrush at a 45 degree angle from the tooth surface. This allows the bristles to go in between each tooth and reach under the gum line.
*Brush in groups of 2-3 teeth at a time, in a small circular motion. Once those couple of teeth are clean, move to the next group and repeat. Brushing side-to-side will actually wear down your gum line and cause serious problems in the future.
*Brush the outsides and insides of the teeth, on both the top and bottom. Make sure you also clean the chewing surface of the teeth to get all the food out from the crevices.
*To reach behind your front teeth on the top, point your toothbrush vertically and use the bristles on the end of the tooth brush.
*Don't forget to brush your tongue. This will get rid of bacteria as well as help your breath smell fresh.
A wonderful animation of this process can be found at the SimpleSteps to Better Dental Health website.

What toothbrush is right for me?
Choosing a toothbrush is partially a personal preference. The style, color, or promises of a toothbrush do not matter as there has not been any research proving that any of these features improve the removal of dental plaque.

The most important aspect to look for when choosing a tooth brush is that is has soft rounded edges of the bristles, the head itself should be small, about 1 inch by 1/2 inch in size. Soft bristles are favored by dentists. The medium and hard bristles are more damaging to the gum line and are not recommended. It is important to get a toothbrush that fits your mouth. The bristles can be tiered to reach all tooth surfaces and in between teeth.

Toothbrushes should be changed every 3-4 months. If you are sick, it is smart to change your toothbrush after you are feeling better as the bacteria may still live on your toothbrush.

How often should I brush?
It is recommended that one brushes after every meal and snack. Some dentists recommend keeping a toothbrush at work or in your backpack to increase the number of times your brush.

Brush at least two times a day for at least 3-4 minutes each time. Brushing with the radio on for a full song would be equivalent to the recommended time interval. It is more beneficial to brush two or three times a day for 3 minutes than to bush more frequently for less than a minute.

If you brush with fluoride toothpaste in the morning and at night, simply brushing with water after lunch at work would be adequate.

If you only choose to brush once a day, brush before you go to sleep. The secretions from your salivary glands are what combats a lot of bacteria throughout the day. When you are asleep, the process slows, thus allowing more bacteria to grow and build up into plaque. Dr. Dan Peterson informed on his website that the streptococci bacteria that helps lead to tooth decay can multiply up to 30 times overnight if you did not brush before going to bed.

Dental What?!?

You may be saying to yourself, "Yeah, yeah, I've heard of this plaque stuff before," but do you really know what your dentist is talking to you about?

Dental plaque is a natural build-up of an array of bacteria on the tooth surface. It is used to protect the host from other invasive organisms.

So if plaque is natural to your body and is a protecter, why is it such a big deal? As seen in the image, when plaque accumulates it forms a pale yellow, white color deposit on the tooth surface. It is easy to tell from the picture that plaque tends to build up in the hard to reach areas of the mouth. Without proper dental care, the plaque is allowed to accumulate and form larger deposits, which can become harmful to the host. A simple fix for this problem is more of a prevention; by exercising good dental hygiene of brushing and flossing on a regual, daily basis plaque is less prone to become harmful.

One my think that the only set back of extra plaque is the unattractive discoloring. This is far from true. Many different problems can arise from plaque, most namely dental calculus. Calulus, also known as tartar, is calcified plaque on the tooth surface composed of saliva, minerals, and debris. This is not as easy to remove as plaque. A professional dental care provider, either a dentist himself or a dental hygenist, must use special insturments to remove this mineralized layer. Continued cleaning with specialized toothpaste and diligent oral care is required of the host to prevent further formation of tartar.

Image provided by Dozenist licensed under Attribution ShareAlike version 2.5.