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Flossing should be an important part of your oral hygiene routine. Some people do not floss daily, but everyone should. Unlike brushing, flossing once a day before you go to bed is fine. You do not need to floss after every meal. However, you do need to know how to floss correctly. Flossing daily in the correct way will help you battle gum disease, prevent tooth decay, and will even help with bad breath. Here are a few tips for flossing.
How Much Floss Do You Need?
You do not need a lot of floss, but you do need more than many people use. We actually recommend you use around eighteen inches of dental floss. This gives you enough to wrap it around your fingers a few times. You want to have good control over the floss, and that means wrapping it a few times. You also need to have enough floss that you can get it between your teeth without much trouble. If the floss keeps slipping out of your fingers, you may need to wrap it an additional time.
Floss All of Your Teeth
It is important that you slide the floss between all of your teeth, even those in the very back. While it can be a little uncomfortable at first to get the floss back there, you will get the hang of it fairly quickly. This is where having a good amount of floss helps. Also, run the floss up and down the sides of your very back teeth that do not have other teeth beside them. This helps clean bacteria off them. Do the same for any teeth that are beside a space where you have lost a tooth.
If you are uncertain about flossing or want some additional tips, the team here at Crossroads Family Dentistry can help you. Call us today to make an appointment.