How (And When) To Floss Your Teeth

“Do you floss?” my dentist asks.
Inside, you groan.

“Um, sure, yeah, I do,” you say.

It’s the same old story every visit to the dentist’s office. The hygienist asks you if you floss and you mumble a ‘yes’ when you really you don’t.

If you’re like most of us, you’ve never been taught how to floss, when to floss, and most importantly why even bother? After all, we’ve all got a million things clamoring for our attention from the dog to the kids to the husband to career to email, etc. Who has time to floss?

One word: plaque. Plaque is bacteria that grows on surfaces in the mouth. It is colorless at first, but when it builds up, it turns brown or light yellow and is then known as tartar. We want to prevent plaque from growing on our teeth. As plaque builds up it can cause tooth decay, gum disease, gingivitis, cavities, and lead to periodontal disease.

Now plaque is an inevitable part of our lives. After all, we all have to eat. But we can do our best to prevent it from building up and spreading. We do this through regular dental cleanings to remove the plaque we can’t get and through daily teeth care, which is brushing and flossing.

Hopefully, I’ve convinced you that you need to floss. So what do you do? And when? The American Dental Association recommends brushing your teeth for two minutes twice a day, flossing once a day (before bed would make the most sense so food doesn’t sit all night in-between your teeth), and regular visits to the dentist.

There are a variety of dental floss tools available on the market to help with this. Flossy Brush offers an all-in-one solution that is designed for the hard to reach places in the back of your mouth. Flossy Brush is compatible with all kinds of floss for your convenience or you can order floss through us as well. A complimentary floss is included with your first order!

The key to flossing is ensuring you remove all the food between your teeth. To do this, rub the floss gently from the bottom of the tooth upwards on both sides of your tooth. Try to get beneath the gum line, but never force it.

Another tip is to make flossing a habit just like brushing your teeth. Flossy Brush’s mission is to make brushing and flossing your teeth as easy and as enjoyable as baking brownies with a variety of options available. Add flossing in to your morning and nightly ritual and soon you’ll not think about it. Your teeth will thank you and your overall oral health will shine!

So at your next dental cleaning when your hygienist asks if you’ve been flossing, you can confidently say, “Yes! I have!” Your hygienist will respond, “I can tell!”