While regular brushing helps to keep your teeth clean, it doesn’t reach the hidden spaces between your teeth. You have to floss your teeth as often as possible to remove food particles and plaque that could hide between your teeth. If these particles are left to accumulate, they encourage the growth of harmful bacteria that cause tooth decay and smelly mouth. If you don’t deal with the issue promptly, it can lead to loss of teeth.
Flossing is more or less the same as vacuuming a carpet. You may not see the dust stuck between the feathers of your carpet until you vacuum it. After vacuuming, the carpet looks and feels cleaner. Flossing applies the same principle. By flossing your teeth regularly, you don’t just improve the quality and appearance of your teeth, but you also enhance your overall health. Medical experts argue that just like any other infection, gum diseases increase the level of inflammatory substances in your blood, promoting blood clots and delayed blood flow, which can cause serious heart problems.
Another argument is that oral infections release bacteria into your bloodstream, thus affecting your cardiovascular system. Most of these heart complications can be fatal if they are left untreated for a long time. Fortunately, you can avoid all these problems if you make a habit of flossing your teeth at least twice a day. However, flossing doesn’t mean just picking a floss and inserting it between the teeth. There are several essential steps you have to take to make your flossing successful.
First, you have to wind the floss around your middle fingers. Then, hold the floss tightly between your thumbs and forefingers on both hands. Rubbing gently, guide the floss between your teeth while preventing the floss from snapping into the gums. Once the floss touches the gum line, curl it against each tooth and rub gently. When you are scrubbing the side of your tooth, move the floss up and down away from the gum.
Repeat this process on each tooth without forgetting the backside of the last tooth. When you finish flossing, dispose of the floss. It is not wise to use a used floss because it might break into the jawline or cause infections by depositing bacteria acquired from the previous flossing session. You should talk to your dentist if you don’t know which floss or flossing method to use.
