The Importance of Flossing

When it comes to the importance of flossing, we can’t be more direct. You need to floss daily!

Dentists agree that there are three important parts of maintaining proper oral health: brush your teeth twice a day, floss, and have regular professional cleanings. Brushing is great for cleaning the bite surface, tongue, and large exposed sides of teeth, and cleanings are great at removing calcified plaque and tartar, but many patients neglect flossing. Regardless of age, it’s critical that patients floss every day, for a number of reasons.

Flossing allows patients to clean between their teeth. Where brushing can clean the visible surfaces, food particles and debris from chewing will inevitably gather between teeth and along the gum line, and as it decomposes, it will provide food for bacteria that contributes to both tooth decay and gum disease. Even in the absence of food particles, flossing helps remove plaque from the surfaces between teeth – plaque, a sticky film of bacteria – will harden into bacteria-rich calcified tartar in as little as 24 hours, so daily flossing helps remove plaque before it can harden.

Flossing between teeth along the gum line helps clean bacteria from the periodontal pockets in the gums at the base of the teeth. Patients who rarely floss will see that flossing near the gums can cause blood. That blood is due to inflammation caused by early stages of periodontal disease, and flossing regularly will remove that bacteria and help stave off infection. Without flossing, the bacteria in the gums will cause gingivitis and eventually periodontal disease, which can lead to bad breath, sore and bleeding gums, and eventual tooth loss.

Flossing is equally important for children and adults, and it doesn’t matter if the patient flosses in the morning or at night, before they brush their teeth or after – the most important thing is that the patient brushes and flosses every day. Removing food particles and plaque every day before they can contribute to tooth decay, tartar, or periodontal disease is critical for maintaining good oral health, allowing the patient to keep their natural teeth healthy for as long as possible.

Need someone to help your kids understand the importance of flossing?

Call Dr. Graham E. Farless DDS, your Greensboro Family Dentist, today for more information on your oral health, 336-282-2868. Visit his practice online at www.gsodentist.com.