Everybody knows brushing your teeth is an essential part of an oral hygiene routine to keep teeth clean. Although, sometimes when we clean our teeth, there are certain stubborn areas where food debris may remain inside the mouth. When this happens, dental plaque can build up and coat around your teeth, hiding the shine in those pearly whites.
The soft bristles on your toothbrush are not exactly adept at removing debris that’s stuck in between your teeth, but dental flossing is.
How often do you floss your teeth? Oral hygiene recommendations are to floss your teeth immediately after brushing your teeth. There may be times where you want to floss more than once in the day, depending on the cleanliness of your mouth.
It is easy to skip this step, but below outlines why dental flossing for you and your children as part of a strong oral routine is important.
Protects From Cavities
When dental plaque builds on your teeth, this along with sugar and acid can combine to damage your enamel and cause tiny openings (known as a cavity) in the root of the tooth. To avoid this, floss in between your teeth so that food debris doesn’t remain in the mouth. Food dislodged between your teeth for a long period can damage your smile.
Prevents Gum Disease
Dental plaque on your teeth can also lead to gum disease. The bacteria in plaque causes an inflammatory response. This can lead to bleeding and receding gums, attributing to weaker bone and tooth loss. The signs will be noticeable in the mouth and will require treatment, but flossing can stop this from happening altogether.
Promotes A Healthy Lifestyle
Flossing your teeth indicates healthy lifestyle choices where you put your smile first. By doing this along with regular flossing, your smile will be preserved and those pearly whites will continue to shine.
Keeps Breath Fresh
Nobody likes to have bad breath, but it is common, and its culprit is the foods you eat. It can also damage your smiling confidence and attribute to low self-esteem, which all owes to little food bits in your mouth. Simply flossing and keeping your mouth clean can reward you with fresher breath.
How Often Should I Floss?
Dental flossing is important, and it is recommended by dentists that you floss your teeth once a day. You should also adopt flossing for your child as part of a strong oral routine. Typically, you should floss after brushing your teeth in the morning. There may be times that you floss more than once in the day. For example, if you’ve just eaten and food has become stuck in between teeth, flossing will be necessary to remove the debris. Flossing may be required more than once in the day if you have tooth misalignment, as it is more common for food to become stuck after eating. You may consult your dentist for further information.
Alternatively, you can consult us now with all of your questions! Contact us at Complete Family Dental today!