Stopping and starting habits is difficult, as most people know. Flossing is no different from other habits; if you aren’t already a flosser you should be, but it may be tricky to get started.
Flossing specifically can be a hard habit to get started because at first your gums and teeth may be sore. It’s hard to convince ourselves to continue to do something that causes us discomfort. Just remember that if you keep it up, the soreness goes away and it gets easier and easier to floss.
Floss in the evenings. It doesn’t matter if you floss before or after brushing your teeth, but it is important to floss before bed rather than at another time of day. You want to get food particles from between your teeth before you go to sleep. While you sleep, food particles can sit against your teeth for 8 hours or more and cause decay.
Here are the main reasons why you should start flossing today and keep it up for life:
Flossing gets where your toothbrush can’t. When you use your toothbrush there are areas of your mouth it just can’t reach.
New technology and fancy toothbrushes can fool us into thinking that flossing is redundant. Ths I is not the case.
You should still floss every day, ideally after each meal, but a more reasonable compromise is once a day. Getting between your teeth is really important for your overall oral health.
Flossing also cleans the parts of the teeth that don’t show. When you floss, you push and pull the floss so that it goes down under the gumline. If you are unsure of proper technique, search for ‘flossing’ on YouTube. There are demonstration videos posted that you can learn from.
Flossing isn’t about just running a thread between your teeth. If you want to see how it is done right on your own teeth, see if the next time you to the dentist they would be willing to let you watch them do the flossing. Many times they’ll give you a hand mirror and let you see, so you’ll be able to start doing it at home too.
Enjoy more of this author’s tips regarding items such as manufacturing accounting system and construction software.