21 Jul Do I Need to Floss?
Do I need to Floss? This is a question that I (as your dental hygienist) get on a daily and sometimes hourly basis.
Flossing is an essential part of your daily cleaning routine because toothbrushing alone only cleans 50% of the tooth surface. There is a far more efficient and simpler way to keep your gums healthy. That method is called using an interdental brush.
These amazing little brushes have been proven to remove more of the harmful bacteria than conventional floss. That is because these brushes come in a range of sizes to suit all spaces and have bristles on the end which help remove more plaque. A bonus is that they are less fiddly to use than floss!
What happens if I never floss?
Tooth brushing alone will not remove the harmful bacteria (plaque) that form in-between the teeth. If these bacteria are not removed daily, they will sit there and cause the gums in that area to become inflamed and will bleed. This inflammation will become gum disease which is a leading cause of tooth loss.
How do I know what size interdental brush I need?
Your hygienist will be able to size up the spaces in-between your teeth so that you are using the correct size brush. This is extremely important because using a brush which is too small will result in you not getting the right results for the excellent efforts you are making.