07 May

How to floss your teeth properly by a London dentist

Flossing your teeth may sound easy, but like most things in life there is a right and a wrong way to do it says a London dentist. First off, you will have to choose a type of flossing cord, there is waxed or plain, wide and narrow and even flavoured floss. It doesn`t really matter which type you choose to use, it is all in the wrist action, so to speak. The important thing to remember is that flossing will do a job that no brushing will do, and that is to loosen up food debris in between the teeth. If this debris is left unchecked then bacteria will multiply by feeding on it, and that leads to infections and tartar build up on the base of teeth. Tartar destroys the enamel on the teeth, and the result is the premature loss of the tooth. Flossing will go a long way to preventing all the above, but it is important to get the method right. Flossing is all about being sensible and thinking about the angle of the floss to eradicate the foreign material. Taking a length of floss of about half a metre, wrap the ends around the fingers next to the thumb. Then thread the floss around a tooth, now just work the thread up and down the sides of the tooth and angle it to make sure you get all the corners round the back. This will loosen the food particles, which then need to be taken out of mouth using a good mouth wash. Do this same routine for all your teeth, it may seem tedious at first, but it will save your teeth a lot of aggravation and infections if you floss. Be careful not to be too vigorous or you will tear the gum line, just take the initial flossing slowly and you`ll soon get the hang of it.