The Importance of Daily Flossing

How do you keep your teeth clean? Are you the kind of person who only brushes before they go to bed, or do you go through an entire routine – brushing after every possible meal, flossing, mouth wash, etc? If you’re the latter, you’re doing it right. While daily brushing is a great way to […]The post The Importance of Daily Flossing appeared first on Smile Designs, LLC - Wellington, FL.

 If you’re the latter, you’re doing it right. While daily brushing is a great way to keep away obvious plaque and extra food particles, dentists in Wellington, Florida don’t tell their patience to go that extra mile for nothing.

Think of the size and style of your average toothbrush. The bristles are of the right length and angle to scrape away the food and plaque stuck to your tooth’s front, back and top surfaces, but they aren’t made specifically for getting in between teeth. Mouth wash helps kill bacteria and gets in between the cracks, but it isn’t good for helping force debris out of your oral crevices.

Flossing is the only sure way to effectively remove all of the leftover food and particles from your teeth when paired with regular brushing and mouth wash, and this is very important – regular flossing helps prevent gum disease, keeps your mouth clean and prevents hard-to-reach cavities that can be costly and painful to drill and fill.

When you first start flossing, you may notice that your gums bleed easily when you do. Don’t be alarmed – think of flossing as a workout for your gums. The more you floss, the stronger they’ll get. Strong gums are gums that hold onto teeth better and the practice keeps gingivitis and gum disease away.

Gum diseases and infections in your gums aren’t just a painful mouth problem. Infected gums can lead to other serious problems, like heart disease and death if untreated.

Your gums are the cornerstone of your oral health. Typically if you have healthy gums, you’re also free of other oral ailments.

There are effective ways to keep your breath smelling fresh, like brushing, sugar-free gum and mouth wash. However, if you don’t regularly floss and remove those hard-to-reach food particles stuck between your teeth, your breath will consistently smell bad.

Think about regular food, like a strawberry for example. If you leave it to sit out for a few days, it will begin to mold and ooze. This same principle applies to the food in your mouth. When left in between crevices in your mouth, it will rot and emit foul smelling odors. Your saliva will help break down the food while it’s stuck, but this alone won’t remove the food. The sugar within the food will also be food for the bacteria in your mouth, which leads to other oral problems…

A cavity on the top or front of your tooth is easy to get to because they’re extremely topical. A little drilling and some filler and the procedure is over. When you let food and bacteria rest between your teeth due to a lack of flossing, however, hard-to-reach cavities develop. These cavities require more invasive drilling in order to be reached, especially when they’re extremely deep within the space between your teeth.

When you floss regularly, you help ensure that you don’t have to make extra trips to the dentist that can cost you more money than necessary. Protect your smile at all costs and make sure to always floss every night before going to bed.

The post The Importance of Daily Flossing appeared first on Smile Designs, LLC - Wellington, FL.