Dental Flossing is as important as Brushing, explained by Lake Lanier Smiles, Affordable Buford Dentist

Dental Flossing: FLOSS LIKE A BOSS

In recent days, flossing has been at the center stage of great debate on whether it has any benefits.

Flossing’s association to oral health has vastly been known to oral healthcare providers.

Flossing is not optional but is essential. The dentists at Lake Lanier Smiles believes and know for the fact that flossing helps.

We at Lake Lanier Smiles wants to set the record straight and let our patients know that indeed we need to floss. Hope common sense prevails.

The purpose of a floss: It deals with removing food particles and plaque from between the teeth. Brushing your teeth can not reach inter-dental areas. The plaque contains bacteria that are both harmless and harmful.

You may not be aware of food debris and plaque present between your teeth, therefore, it is important to daily clean these areas to prevent an accumulation of acid releasing bacteria from causing damage.

TYPES OF FLOSS

The material floss is made out of plastic beads, wax, and flavoring agents.

• Regular floss: These are the flosses that are known to us as the string flosses. They vary in whether they contain wax and the kind of flavor they contain. The ease of flossing differs with waxed and unwaxed. The waxed flosses move in and out between teeth smoothly. Flavoring merely gives the experience of flossing enjoyable and refreshing.

• Floss picks: Unlike string flosses, picks allow you to use one hand and very convenient. The difference lies in the effectiveness of cleaning. The general motion of flossing requires hugging the teeth with the floss in an up and down motion. With floss picks, there is some restriction in allowing such a movement.

• Handle flosser: Similar to the floss pick, this device has a longer handle with a grip. The floss head is just like the pick. As with the pick, the effectiveness of flossing is lessened because you are not able to change the angulation of the floss as you can with regular floss.

• Superfloss: These are special flosses designed for bridges and orthodontic braces. They work in the same manner as regular floss but the initial method of use differs. You have to slide the floss underneath the bridges and braces before flossing.

• Oral irrigators: These are water spray in the form of a pulsating jet stream. They serve the purpose of removing debris and plaque between teeth. It comes as an attachment placed in a toothbrush type handle.
When using it make sure it is over the sink since water will spill out of your mouth. For the most effective results, the head of the device should be place in a 90-degree angle for 1 -2 minutes

• Interdental brushes: Made strictly for cleaning between teeth, these brushes have a thin narrow working area. You place the bristle between teeth and move the brush in an inward and outward direction.

How to use regular floss:

The proper way to floss requires using both hands.
Take out about 18 inches of floss. On both ends, wrap the floss around your middle fingers, leaving about 2 inches to work with.
With your index fingers or thumbs, slowly tease the floss between your teeth.
Start to cup the teeth by curving the floss around the side of a tooth and reach under the gumline. Begin to gradually move out.
The motion is similar to drying your back with a towel.

Flossing benefits:

-Calculus reduction
By flossing, you will be able to eliminate plaque, which if left untouched and harden in the form of calculus. This will not be able to be removed from brushing for flossing. The dental hygienist will use scaling and hand instruments to debride the area. Calculus build up can cause gum irritation, swelling, and recession.

-Caries prevention
Flossing removes the plaque and prevents any harmful bacteria from building up. Cavities develop from bacteria found on uncleaned plaque that feast on sugary substances left uncleaned.
Lack of flossing will allow the bacteria to cause acid demineralization of the hard enamel. The end result would be needing a filling to remove the decay and place a bio-compatible material such as amalgam or composite.

-Perio disease prevention
In terms of periodontal disease, the harmful bacteria can build up in areas ignored from cleaning. The bacteria are able to penetrate deep within the gums.
The first sign of periodontal disease is bleeding. At this point, it is known as Gingivitis. A reversible process, gingivitis can be tackled with immediate oral hygiene.
Brushing and flossing regularly can reduce the swelling and bleeding of the gums.
When left uncleaned, the plaque begins to accumulate resulting in inflammation and infection of the gums.
A sign of chronic periodontal disease is enlargement of the pockets surrounding the teeth. The dental hygienist will be able to detect this at your annual cleaning. At this point, with a deep cleaning, your gums can return to attaching tightly with the tooth.
In cases when annual cleaning visits are neglected, the pockets deepen and the disease progresses to the bone, as the bone level reduces. In a clinical view, the root surfaces may be visible due to gingival recession from its initial attachment point.

Take home exercise for Non Flossers
Any of non Flossers whose gums bleed on flossing should try to floss everyday  for ten days and they can see visible reduction of bleeding. Then you can believe for yourself.

If you have any questions about your Oral Health or to make an appointment Call us at 770-831-0559 or visit us at WWW. LAKELANIERSMILES.COM for Valuable Coupons and Specials. Our prices are 30-50 % Off Regular Prices. Call Us before Noon and we will see you the Same Day. We accept most insurances. We are conveniently located just off I-985 at 4965 Lanier Islands Parkway, Suite 105, Buford, Ga- 30418. LAKE LANIER SMILES provides Affordable dental care with outstanding customer service to patients in Buford, Sugar Hill, Suwanee, Cumming, Flowery Branch and surrounding areas.