Why You Should Floss & How to Floss Like a Rock Star

You probably understand how important regular brushing is for your dental health. That’s why at our family dental clinic, we recommend that our patients brush twice per day for two minutes each time. Brushing your teeth regularly with a fluoride toothpaste is essential to keeping your teeth and gums strong and healthy. But do you also realize how important flossing is as well? You should floss at least once a day to ward off tooth decay and help prevent gum disease. Yes, we know that you tell us you floss every time you brush. Just like we also know that most of you don’t. We get it – it’s annoying, and some of us find it unpleasant. But regular flossing isn’t only important for your health, it will also mean less plaque scraping at your next dental cleaning.

The fact is that floss reaches areas of the tooth and gums that regular brushing cannot. It removes plaque and food stuck between the teeth, and deep in the gum line. This helps prevent cavities, but also limits your risk to gum disease like gingivitis. You can be the best brusher in the world, but you still won’t be able to make up for failing to floss. Leaving food debris in your gum line lets plaque and bacteria build up. This leads to weak, receding, infected gums, which leads to gingivitis and, eventually, periodontitis.

Let’s break down exactly why you should brush and floss. But let’s be honest — you probably already know you should. So we’ll also give you some inspirational tips to get the job done. You can do this!

Plaque Hardens Fast

Plaque is kind of like cement — once it dries, it’s hard to get off. What most people don’t realize is it hardens fast! It starts to harden as little as a few hours after eating. By 48 hours, it’s a solid plaster wall. Before too long the only way to remove it is a professional dental cleaning. Okay, you’re thinking, so what if there’s a bit of plaque between my teeth? The thing is, much like a solid plaster wall – anything that’s stuck in there when it hardens is really stuck in there. That means any tiny, miniscule food debris or bacteria is now sealed into an environment perfect for spreading, with no way for you to get it out. Gross, right?

Flossing Saves Lives (Yes, Literally)

Believe it or not, but flossing benefits not only your teeth, but your health overall. In fact, people who floss regularly and have healthier teeth suffer a lower rate of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and respiratory disease. Why is that? Simply put, people who floss regularly have way lower rates of gum disease. Gum disease at any stage begins to break down gum and bone tissue in the mouth, but it also causes inflammation throughout the entire body. Chronic inflammation leads to these life-threatening ailments like heart disease and COPD. So yes, flossing really does save lives — your own!

Say Goodbye to Bloody, Painful Gums

You’ll have to trust us on this. Many of our Cincinnati patients skip flossing because it makes their gums bleed. The irony is their gums bleed because they don’t floss! Brushing correctly and flossing daily actually stimulates the gum line (read: makes your gums stronger). That means your dental cleanings and teeth whitening sessions become less uncomfortable and less… bloody. The more you floss, the healthier your gums will be and the less they bleed. Plus, as you remove bacteria from the gum line, your body won’t need to send extra blood cells to fight an infection. Everyone wins!

How to Inspire Yourself to Floss

Yes, we know you do mean to floss. But more likely than not, you’re probably not nearly as regular on your flossing as you are on your brushing. We’re a family dentist and a cosmetic dentist – we can tell the difference in a patient who flosses regularly and one who doesn’t. You’re not playing us — you’re playing yourself!

Want some motivation? After you floss, rinse or drink a glass of cold refreshing water. Sit back and notice how clean and fresh your gums and mouth feel? Doesn’t that feel great? The after effects of flossing actually feel pretty nice!

Here’s another mental trick to get you to floss. The next time you floss, smell the strand of floss. Yes, it’s gross — but keep in mind that smell would otherwise be in your mouth right now. Flossing freshens your breath. When you don’t floss, your mouth smells like that piece of dental floss. Nobody’s told you before because they’re too nice to you.

Make flossing easier by double-tasking. Floss in the shower. If you work in a closed door office, pack some office in your desk and floss after lunch. Floss before you settle down to relax for the night — not when you go to bed, but when you flip the chill switch, say, in front of the TV.

So, let’s bring it all together. Flossing: it’s not useless, it’s definitely important, it’s good for your health, and on top of all that, it makes dental cleanings simpler, dental care easier, and prevents issues like gum disease, cavities, toothaches, and tooth extractions.