5 Reliable Steps on How to Use Dental Floss Properly

How To Use Dental Floss Properly?

Proper oral hygiene is key to maintaining oral health and maintaining and prolonging the longevity of restorations or treatments performed in the mouth; using a toothbrush is not enough to keep the cavity clean; there are alternative attachments to achieve successful oral hygiene.

Dental floss is a perfect complement to brushing since it removes food debris that may have been retained between the teeth and that brushing is not capable of cleaning; we must use it at least once a day, after daily brushing.

Step 1:

Step1: Cut a piece of dental floss of about 18 inches, and with each end, we will make several turns on the middle finger of each hand.

Step 2:

Step 2: Next, we collect the dental floss in one of the hands, turning more turns on the middle finger; in this way, we can release on one side and pick up the other to be able to clean the floss on each tooth, to handle the dental floss we will always use the index fingers and thumbs of both hands

Step 3:

Step 3: For the upper part, place the dental floss from the index of one hand to the thumb of the other (A) Then place the index pointing towards the inside of the mouth, introduce the dental floss gently exerting a lateral pressure against the tooth, never against the gum, pass the silk through each of the interdental spaces, (B) Cleaning both sides of the teeth.

Step A

Step B

Step 4:

Step 4: For the lower part, place your hands holding the dental floss between both index fingers.

Step 5:

Step 5: Carry out the movements the same way as in the upper part. We must remember that the spaces between all the teeth must be cleaned, both the front teeth and those of the back.

What Do I Do If I Have Limitations To Be Able To Use The Dental Floss?

If you have difficulty reaching the posterior parts, some attachments help us reach those areas, such as dental floss with a handle

Are There Other Attachments?

Another type of helpful accessory for the correct hygiene of the teeth is the interdental brushes that are very useful for when there are large spaces where the dental floss is not enough to clean the remains of food. This usually happens when the teeth are separated from one another. Others are more than usual.

The correct way to use them is by inserting the brush carefully into space and make horizontal movements entering and leaving it. It is important to choose the appropriate brush, which must enter smoothly through the spaces, contacting only the bristles of the brush, the People with periodontal disease, with spaces appearing between the teeth due to loss of bone and the retraction of the gums find it essential to use an interdental brush to keep these spaces clean, introduce the brush in the spaces between the gums and the teeth and perform horizontal movements.

Flossing plus brushing showed a statistically significant benefit, compared to brushing, in reducing gingivitis, an article published by Dr. Sambunjak et al. at the Cochrane Library.

For proper oral hygiene, we must always finish by cleaning the surface of the tongue. Scrapers are an excellent alternative for this. Like the manual brush technique, move the tongue and place the scraper on the back, and then sweep towards the front, always back to front.

Contact Us

If you have any of these issues and need guidance, feel free to visit Channel Island Family Dental.

At Channel Island Family Dental, we focus on providing a timely diagnosis. In addition, at Oxnard Dentist, Ventura Dentist , Newbury Park, Port Hueneme Dentist, and Santa Paula Dentist, we provide the best treatment to restore your confidence in smiling again.