While Absolute Smile provides expert cosmetic dentistry and dental implant services near Philadelphia, PA, we have a secret goal. It would help if you didn’t need them. Promoting good oral health is essential to us. One of the key ways you can ensure healthy teeth and gums is to floss regularly, at least once a day. Choosing the right floss, however, is essential. So, what type of floss should I use?
Why Should You Floss?
Brushing your teeth twice a day helps to keep your teeth clean, but you only get about 60% of the tooth’s surface when you brush. You can’t get between the teeth, meaning bacteria and plaque can still build up. Flossing helps remove food, bacteria, and plaque from between your teeth, protecting not just your teeth but your gums.
Why People Don’t Floss
Chances are good that you’re not flossing at least once a day. The most common reasons people don’t floss:
- It takes too long
- It’s too painful
You need to set aside a few minutes to floss your teeth properly. There is little you can do about the time. However, flossing shouldn’t be painful or uncomfortable. Often that comes down to the type of dental floss you’re using.
Choosing the Right Dental Floss
One of the tricks about choosing dental floss is that there are many different kinds of dental floss to use. We recommend keeping a small variety of floss on hand at home to help ensure you floss regularly. Here are our tips to help you choose dental floss,
- Keep one or two types of dental floss in your bathroom to include in your oral health routine. Ideally, choose unwaxed floss. It depends on your teeth if you’re curious if it should be thin or thick. You want your floss to be easy to get between your teeth. People often experience pain because they’re using too wide floss or struggle to get the floss between their teeth. Because your teeth don’t always have the same uniform space between them, having at least two types of floss means you can switch out floss for tighter teeth.
- Keep floss picks in your bathroom to help you get hard-to-reach areas of your mouth. There’s no point in gagging yourself to reach the back molars; you don’t want to ignore these teeth.
- Keep floss picks in places where you spend a lot of time, such as in the living room or at your desk. Use them to floss periodically throughout the day. You can also keep some in your car so that you have them to floss after a meal.
If flossing is too painful, even when you adjust the type of floss you use, then you could have other oral health problems. Please schedule an appointment so that we can check your teeth and gums as soon as possible.
Are You Looking for Cosmetic Dentistry in Philadelphia?
Absolute smile offers cosmetic dentistry and dental implant services near Philadelphia, PA. Contact us today to make an appointment. Please take advantage of our free new patient consultation to meet our staff and choose your new family dentist.
