Taking good care of your smile means cleaning your teeth every day to remove harmful oral bacteria from your teeth (and gum line). However, brushing only isn’t designed to reach between teeth and around the gums. So when you brush, you’re only cleaning part of your teeth. Fortunately, flossing is designed to clear out dental plaque.
When you floss using an interdental cleaning tool like floss, picks or brushes, you can finish “brushing” all the areas of your teeth. This is how you remove the bacteria that love feeding on sugar and tiny bits of food that linger between teeth after you eat. If you don’t clear away plaque every day, it hardens into calculus that sticks to the gumline making you susceptible to gingivitis (gum disease) as well as tooth decay.
Flossing Benefits
Flossing doesn’t just make you feel good when you look in the mirror after removing that stray bit of spinach stuck between your teeth. Flossing also makes your teeth and gums feel better too!
-Removing plaque: Whenever you consume starchy or sugary foods and liquids, the bacteria in them secrete acids that dissolve carbohydrates. Left alone, the mixture of oral bacteria, damaging acids, and carbohydrates combine, leaving you with sticky plaque buildup clinging to your teeth and gumline. Flossing protects your teeth and gums by finishing the cleaning job your toothbrush starts!
-Lessens the odds of getting cavities: When you don’t brush and floss every day, you risk getting tiny holes in the tooth enamel from plaque buildup. Getting rid of trapped food particles and plaque buildup protects your pearly whites.
-Keeps gum disease at arm’s length: Have you ever noticed your gums looking red, inflamed, and even bleeding when you brush and floss? That’s gingivitis, the early stage of gum disease. Left untreated, it steadily worsens until the infection causes your gums to pull away from your teeth, leading to receding gums and loose teeth as jawbone diminishes.
-Keep your breath fresh: Halitosis is common in people who don’t brush and floss every day. That’s because those trapped food particles stay between your teeth, slowly break down and smell bad, the same as cavities and gum disease do. Floss and brush every day to enjoy better breath.
-Better health: Consistent daily brushing and flossing habits don’t just protect your mouth from harm, but your body too. Poor dental health contributes to heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Keep your body happy by keeping your teeth and gums happy!
Flossing Options
-A proxy brush (interdental brush) cleans between teeth.
-Pointed rubber tips or wooden plaque removers.
-Oral irrigators (water flossers) flush out harmful bacteria and food particles.
-Pre-threaded flossers.
-Waxed or unwaxed string floss.
Flossing for Life
Floss at least once a day, either at bedtime or first thing in the morning. Tip: The ADA encourages you to floss your teeth before you brush them. This loosens food particles and plaque stuck between teeth so you can then remove them by brushing. Protect your smile by finding your flossing tool of choice and using it every day! Give our team a call if you have questions or want to schedule a visit at one of our three locations.
Romeoville – 815-372-0100
Naperville – 630-904-5600
Montgomery – 630-923-0900