Flossing is a very important element of your dental health care. Floss can break up food and bacteria between the teeth that your toothbrush can not reach. This an essential step in breaking up harmful plaque.

Basics in Flossing:

• Floss at least once daily to remove plaque and food particles.
• Wrap a 12-18 inch piece of floss between your middle fingers. Use your index fingers to guide and ease the floss between your teeth.
• Once the floss is between your teeth, press it to one side, forming a "C" shape. Then, press it to the other side to form another "C".
• Continue to work the floss up and down between all your teeth and along all of the gumline.
• If you have a bridge or wear braces, you can use a floss threader or interdental brush. These are specialty tools to aid in cleaning under bridges or wires.

Some kinds of floss have a special coating to make getting into tight spaces easier. You may want to experiment on which floss you feel most comfortable with. The important thing is to ensure flossing becomes a regular part of your routine.

Additional aids to oral home care can include mouth rinses, high fluoride pastes, sensitivity pastes, remineralizing pastes, electric brushes, sonic brushes, oral irrigators, and other specialized oral hygiene products. When you visit West 10th Dental Group, we will provide individualized oral hygiene instruction. In addition, we will suggest the products and materials that we feel are best suited for your particular oral health needs.

No one can do it all by themselves! Please feel free to visit us at West 10th Dental Group for an oral hygiene appointment. We hope you will be healthier and wealthier as a result!

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