If you brush your teeth regularly, you may assume that you are doing everything you can to maintain your oral health between dental visits. However, if you are not flossing, you are missing a very important step in your efforts to care for your teeth and gums.
Think about it for a moment. When you brush, you brush the surfaces of your teeth, but what about the spaces between them? Even if you manage to clean these spaces to some extent with the bristles of your toothbrush, you cannot clean these spaces as well as they ought to be cleaned. This is even more important when you consider that food is not the only problem in these spaces; plaque can form there, just as it can form on your teeth.
With dental floss, you can clean these spaces far better than you can with a toothbrush alone. This is essential because, as noted by the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA), “plaque build-up can lead to tooth decay and gum disease.”
What if you don’t floss?
Many people, after finishing a meal, check a mirror to make sure there are no embarrassing particles stuck between the teeth. Even if these bits of food aren’t embarrassingly visible, they’re still there. The amount between the teeth adds up with everything you eat throughout the day. By the time you brush your teeth before bed, your mouth can have a variety of foods stuck in the spaces between the teeth.
Although this is not a pleasant thought, it illustrates how much food can build up during any given day. What if you don’t floss for a week? Again, this isn’t a pleasant thought, but it’s an important one, especially because the food isn’t the only thing in there. There’s plaque accumulating, too.
Consider this: If you are prone to bad breath or halitosis, try flossing regularly. You may be surprised at how much cleaner your mouth feels – and how fresh your breath becomes.
The ramifications of not flossing may be much worse than bad breath. Dr. Robert Korwin, a dentist in New Jersey, created a website, www.flossingforlife.com, about what a difference flossing can make in your efforts to protect yourself against a variety of health problems, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, and pneumonia. The list of health conditions on this website is extensive and each condition listed is a separate incentive to floss regularly.
If you have children, here’s one more incentive. If you brush and floss with your child, you will show him or her that your dental health is important to you and that you are willing to take the necessary steps to protect and preserve it.
If you are unsure about how to floss or if you have any questions about this issue, ask the staff at Moore Family Dental. If you would like a flossing demonstration, ask! Your oral health is important to us and we are always happy to work with you to ensure that your teeth and gums are as healthy as they can be.