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Do you floss your teeth?

According to a survey, many people do not floss their teeth. Most of the time people get to use toothpick after a meal and not always. However, flossing is healthier that using a toothpick and is recommended for dental health.

Quote: “There is no instant gratification with flossing — that’s the problem,” says Alla Wheeler, RDH, MPA, associate professor of the Dental Hygiene Program at the New York University School of Dentistry. “Patients don’t think it does anything.” (WebMD).

But flossing does about 40% of the work required to remove sticky bacteria, or plaque, from your teeth. Plaque generates acid, which can cause cavities, irritate the gums, and lead to gum disease. “Each tooth has five surfaces. If you don’t floss, you are leaving at least two of the surfaces unclean,” Wheeler explains. “Floss is the only thing that can really get into that space between the teeth and remove bacteria.”

If you experience bleeding during flossing, that’s an even clearer sign that you need to floss. The bleeding occurs because plaque has already built up in the area and would have continued to corrode your gums if you didn’t floss right there and then!
This week, let’s practice our best dental hygiene. Brush your teeth before you sleep and after you wake up. Rinse your mouth/brush your teeth in between your meals. Then, floss before you go to bed at night.

For those of you who already floss, continue doing so. For those of you who don’t floss your teeth normally, let’s start flossing this week! Continue to adhere to this habit for the remaining 4 weeks of the challenge.

Please find a video on YouTube on how to floss properly. Learn something new today.

Do not take your dental health for grunted. If you have been postponing visit to the dentist, this would be a good time to do it.

All the best.