Most people agree that brushing daily with fluoride toothpaste is necessary to maintain a healthy smile. However, many don’t realize the importance of flossing. Here’s a look at how flossing enhances your oral health and why it needs to be a part of your daily routine.
Why Is Flossing Your Teeth So Important?
Even with the best and most thorough tooth brushing practices, plaque and food particles can get trapped in those hard-to-clean areas between the teeth, providing an abundant food source for harmful oral bacteria to feast and flourish. Flossing can reach those tight spaces, effectively cleaning between your teeth and removing plaque and food debris.
Here’s a look at some of the benefits of daily flossing:
- It Helps Prevent Tooth Decay: If food particles and plaque are not removed from between your teeth, you’re at a higher risk of developing tooth decay. Untreated cavities can lead to pain, infection, swelling, an abscess, and sometimes even tooth loss.
- It Helps Prevent Gum Disease: Gum disease, also known as periodontal disease, is a progressive condition that can lead to gum inflammation, pain, and even tooth loss. Regular flossing removes plaque from the gum line, lowering the risk of periodontal disease.
- It Helps Keep You Healthier: Gum disease has been linked to many serious health conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke, to name a few. Lowering the risk of gum disease will, in turn, reflect on your overall health.
- It Helps Prevent Bad Breath: Brushing your teeth and rinsing with mouthwash can help reduce bad breath. However, removing food debris, plaque, and odor-causing bacteria from those tight areas between the teeth produces noticeably fresher breath.
- It Enhances Your Smile: There’s a direct correlation between your smile and your self-confidence. A beautiful, healthy smile will go a long way in making positive first impressions.
Flossing Best Practices
Here are tips to help you properly floss:
- Cut off a strand 18 to 20 inches long and wrap the ends around your middle fingers.
- Hold the floss firmly between your forefinger and thumb.
- Move the floss up and down against the side of the tooth.
- When you reach the gums, gently curve the floss into a C shape to cup the base of the tooth.
- Use a fresh piece of floss as you move from tooth to tooth.
- Rinse to remove any loose food debris or plaque.
Quality Preventive Dentistry Services Near Me in Whitesboro, TX
The best way to keep your smile healthy is to maintain proper oral hygiene care, including regular brushing, flossing, and visiting Main Street Dental Smiles for your routine dental exams and cleaning. We invite you to experience preventive dental care at its best. Call us at 903-564-3451 to schedule your appointment today!