While brushing your teeth is an important part of your at-home dental hygiene routine, you can’t forget to floss between your teeth. Flossing is crucial to keeping your oral health in top shape. Let’s review the benefits of flossing.
Removes Plaque More Efficiently
Brushing and flossing work hand-in-hand to remove plaque, bacteria, and food debris from your teeth. Brushing alone isn’t enough because a toothbrush can’t reach between your teeth. If you don’t floss, you end up neglecting a huge portion of your teeth. To effectively remove plaque and other materials from your teeth and gums, you have to brush twice a day and floss daily.
Prevents Tooth Decay
If you don’t remove plaque, it can build up and eventually cause cavities. Flossing will keep your teeth and gums clean and prevent dental problems like tooth decay. A side benefit of a clean mouth is fresher smelling breath!
Prevents Gum Disease
You may think that flossing only helps your teeth, but it can also have a huge impact on your gums. Plaque can settle along and underneath the gum line, which leads to gum irritation. Not removing this plaque could cause gingivitis or advanced gum disease called periodontitis.
How Often Should You Floss?
The American Dental Association (ADA) recommends flossing your teeth at least once a day. You could floss more often than that, especially after meals and if there’s food stuck between your teeth. It doesn’t matter if you incorporate flossing as part of your morning dental hygiene routine or your evening routine. As long as you do it daily, flossing will remove plaque and other harmful bacteria.
General Dentistry at Chaney Dental
We’re dedicated to ensuring that you and your family have a great smile, so our team is happy to teach you how to floss during your dental appointment. We provide a broad range of services to make sure that we can help you with every dental concern. Please give us a call to schedule an appointment.
