Flossing is an effective contributor to your oral hygiene. It is important to know that strong oral hygiene doesn’t just constitute brushing your teeth twice a day. The concept of flossing is to remove food debris stuck between your teeth after you’ve eaten. It’s not always possible for your toothbrush to clear your mouth all the time, and it’s easy for food to become stuck between your teeth.
What Happens When Food Become Stuck?
Naturally, after we’ve eaten, food particles remain inside the mouth. With high saliva levels in the mouth, these particles will wash away and digest. Although, when food becomes stuck between your teeth, a sticky substance called dental plaque forms around the teeth, causing your smile to become stained. Dental plaque is the first initial sign of tooth decay and, whilst it can be removed with a strong oral routine constituting brushing and flossing your teeth, leaving it to build-up can cause the harmful bacteria, plaque and food particles to combine together to form an acid attack on your teeth. This can cause irreversible damage to your enamel and also introduce gum disease.
Gum disease is an infection the mouth that destroys soft tissue and underlying bone that helps to hold your teeth in place. This is caused by bacteria penetrating in the gums and the tooth surface.
How Often Should I Floss My Teeth?
The purpose of flossing your teeth is to keep your mouth clean throughout the day. It is usually recommended that as part of a strong oral routine that you floss after you’ve brushed your teeth. Flossing should happen once a day and be performed in the morning. Flossing may also be performed at night if food particles remain stuck in the mouth before you go to bed.
Other Benefits Of Flossing
Below outlines some other benefits to flossing your teeth that you can enjoy.
Prevents Bad Breath – Food debris trapped between teeth and gums can cause bacteria build-up and constitute bad breath. Flossing regularly can eliminate any bacteria build-up causing the bad odour in the mouth.
Prevents Gum Disease – Importantly, flossing prevents gum disease because it blocks bacteria from building up and penetrating the gums.
Reduces Cavity Risk – Tooth decay results in cavities forming. A cavity is a tiny hole that forms in the centre surface of the tooth. The more plaque build-up, the higher the risk of developing a cavity. Prevent this from happening by flossing your teeth.
More Effective Than Brushing – Whilst brushing and flossing work in unison to keep your teeth and gums strong, if you brush without flossing, surfaces of the mouth remain uncleaned. The bristles on your toothbrush cannot reach all contours of your teeth. This means food particles can still remain trapped in teeth and gums.
Flossing, alongside brushing teeth and safely using mouthwash will kill harmful bacteria and subsequently reduce plaque build-up as well.
Contact us for further advice on flossing your teeth and book yourself in for a check-up at Lotus Dental Brunswick today!