Tooth brushing is the most popular and effective technique of oral hygiene. However, as a rule, your toothbrush can not reach all the areas in your mouth, especially the spaces between your teeth or under your gum lines. Therefore, pieces and particles of food remain in those areas and create a favorable environment for plague to develop and cause tooth decay, gum disease and other unwanted consequences. Fortunately, there is a great solution for this problem.
Flossing is another important dental procedure that supplements brushing and helps to improve your oral health. It involves using so called “dental floss” or “floss”: a thin nylon or plastic thread that is used for scraping your teeth, especially the areas around the gums. The earliest types of dental floss appeared in the United States in the beginning of the nineteenth century. Nowadays, dental floss with special textured surface area or with advanced tension control design is available, and for your convince it is supplied as ribbon in a plastic dispenser or as a pack of floss filaments. You can use waxed or unwaxed floss, thin or strong one, flavored one or the one with no flavor. Finally, there is a special tool called floss pick that can be used for flossing.
Flossing includes the following procedures:
- Wash your mouth with a rinsing solution, a mouth wash or drinking water.
- Cut an 18-inch piece of your floss.
- Wrap about a half of the floss around the middle finger of your hand.
- Wrap a half of the rest of the floss around the middle finger of your other hand.
- Hold your floss tight with your thumbs and forefingers
- Glide the floss very gently between your teeth. Avoid harsh movements, as well as snapping or forcing the floss.
- When you feel that the floss reached your gum line, curve the floss in the shape of the C-letter around the base of your tooth and start scrapping your tooth by sliding the floss up and down very carefully.
- Repeat the same procedure for all of your teeth using a clean area of floss for every tooth.
- Do not forget to floss behind your back teeth.
- Finish flossing session with rinsing your mouth with drinking water.