Flossing is a crucial step in your oral hygiene regimen. Along with brushing your teeth twice per day, you must floss daily to remove plaque and other harmful residues that naturally accrue in your smile. Otherwise, you could suffer serious damage to the look and feel of your smile.
Your toothbrush and toothpaste alone cannot reach the spaces between your teeth, so you should not skip flossing. Traditional string floss can help you keep these areas clean and reduce your risk of forming cavities and other dental issues.
However, you will need to use proper techniques in order to get your smile as clean as it needs to be to promote a healthy and beautiful finish. Check out these tips from your dentist that can ensure you floss as well as possible to maintain good oral health.
Maintain a Firm Grip on Floss
A good flossing method begins with a strong foundation, and this starts with the right tools. Take about 18 inches of string floss and wrap each end around the middle finger of each hand. Then pinch the string with the index finger and thumb of each hand to create a one-inch section of floss between your fingers.
You can then easily slide the floss from your middle fingers to reveal a fresh section of floss after you use and soil the previous bit. This efficient hold on the floss also allows a firm grip. And this way, you can move your floss where needed with ease and precision.
Move Your Floss with Purpose
Once you establish a strong hold of the floss, you can begin the act of flossing itself. Gently insert the string between two teeth. Then press the string against the side of one of these teeth and rub up and down carefully.
Do the same to the side of the adjacent tooth. Then remove the floss and repeat this same action for your entire mouth. Pay attention to both the top and bottom arches of your teeth.
Make sure you stick to gentle movements as you floss, or you could risk irritating the gums. Flossing with purpose this way ensures you do not miss a spot when cleaning your smile. And you can reap more benefits from good oral hygiene.
Discover More Flossing Tools
Traditional string floss is a highly effective way to clean the spaces between your teeth as part of your oral hygiene routine. But modern dentistry has introduced other tools you can use to enhance your flossing regimen.
For instance, you can try floss picks, disposable devices that feature a string of floss attached to a plastic handle. They can easily move around braces and other oral appliances that might otherwise impede your ability to floss.
You could also try a water flosser, a device that generates a stream of water that you aim between your teeth to clean them. They feature tips that you can switch out to attune to your unique oral health goals. Examples of these tips include one that cleans around dental implants and one that targets the gum pockets. Learn more about proper flossing by giving your dentist a call today.