All you need to know about flossing
By Dr Gunita Singh
Flossing is an important oral hygiene habit. It cleans teeth interdentally, so the idea is the food particles that are stuck in between teeth and cannot be removed with brushing can be easily removed by the floss. Though flossing is not a common practice in our country and has its own side effects, also if not done properly it can lead to damage to gums and teeth.
How does one floss?
1. Take about 20 inches of dental floss.
2. Wind both ends to the middle finger of both hands leaving only 1-2 inches for your teeth.
3. Place it in between 2 teeth and gently glide up and down don’t touch the gums.
4. When you reach gums curve the floss to enter space between gums and teeth gently again without harming your gums.
5. Repeat with every tooth and with each tooth use a new section of the floss out of the 20 inches thread.
“Now the issue is that this is very technical. But the flossing is a very technical procedure wherein sometimes when not done properly leads to gaps between teeth and most of the time it is not done properly so I have examined over the period of 20 years that people who do regular flossing they tend to have more gaps in between their teeth as compared to the ones not doing. Well, but always there was a question mark I would not recommend against flossing but encourage to use the technique properly. Flossing is much better than using toothpicks . Toothpicks mean total damage to your teeth so flossing once in a while to remove extra particles in between the teeth is an excellent idea. Interdental brushes too are good to use. Though I will totally suggest water flossing it is a new age solution to maintain oral hygiene it is a non-touch method to keep your oral hygiene clean of debris and other food particles stuck in between the teeth. It is a blessing for people who have implants, crowns, and bridges, and artificial teeth. It is easily available online with multiple tips of various shapes and sizes to suit your teeth and oral cavity. It is battery operated and flushes water and is available on various e-commerce platforms.” Dr. Gunita Singh, Director, Dentem.
Website- https://dentemcenter.com/
