Why Is Flossing Important?

Have you ever thought about why during dental checkups, your dentist will ask if you are flossing your teeth regularly? Your dentist has probably seen a small problem in your mouth that might be caused by not flossing regularly. Yes, the moment you open your mouth, your dentist can determine this right away. 

A lot of people hate flossing for the reason that this type of dental routine is not introduced well to the public unlike brushing. Of course, everyone knows the importance of brushing since most ads talk about it, while flossing is often neglected. 

Let us get it straight to you that brushing alone is not enough if you want to keep your teeth clean and healthy. There are a lot of oral health routines to do in order to maintain a healthy mouth but brushing and flossing must go together. If you're still not convinced to floss your teeth, you can proceed reading the reasons why flossing is very important.

Why Flossing Is Important?

1. Protects Teeth from Cavities

Cavities usually happen because there is food stuck in between your teeth that are not removed when you just brush your teeth. These foods turn into acid that feeds the bad bacteria in your mouth causing cavities. But if you floss your teeth, it will be easy to remove those foods because the flosser can reach the parts of your teeth that your brushes can't. 

Although cavities don't happen overnight, if you don't floss regularly, it will turn into cavities that are one of the biggest dental problems. Simply, the more food plaque you have, the bigger is the risk of having tooth decay. And tooth decay transfers from one tooth to another. If you don't like this to happen to you, you have to follow your dentist and floss daily. 

2. Prevent Gum Disease

When food is stuck in between your teeth they will not only cause cavities but also gum disease. Yes, the bacteria can affect the gums too since teeth and gums are connected to each other. 

The bacteria in plaque causes inflamed gums that will lead to a serious gum disease when not attended right away. To tell you, gum diseases are more serious than other oral health problems because gum problems like periodontitis will soften your gums tissue so your teeth start to fall out uncontrollably.

3. Avoid Risk of Heart Disease

People with gum disease are more prone to heart disease. The reason for this is that gum disease causes the arteries to narrow so there will be not enough flow of blood in your body. The bacterial infection from your gums can also be transferred to your bloodstream, giving you a serious danger when you don't start flossing your teeth.

4. Reduces Bad Breath

One of the common causes of bad breath is not flossing your teeth. As mentioned above, brushing is not enough. That's why it is very important to thoroughly clean your teeth by flossing. 

When the food is stuck in between your teeth, the acid will feed the bad bacteria as it starts to decay. And everything that is decaying creates a foul smell causing halitosis or bad breath. The bad smell can also get worse if you have a lot of cavities inside your mouth. 

5. Benefits for Your Overall Health

When you floss, you are not only protecting your teeth but also your overall health. Knowing that gum disease is linked to heart problems, you surely would not want this organ to get affected. Heart failure often leads to other health related problems that you can avoid only if you floss regularly.

6. Brightens Teeth

A beautiful white set of teeth is the one without any cavities and plaque. And you can only achieve a healthy white smile when you learn to floss your teeth. The food stuck in between your teeth will be removed, making sure that there's no way for the bacteria to create discoloration to your teeth. 

How to Floss

We understand the frustration of many that flossing is not easy with the use of dental floss. It is somehow tedious knowing that you have to control the string using your hands so you won't accidentally hurt your teeth and gums when pulled harshly. 

However, there's no need for you to settle for dental floss when you can always switch to a portable water flosser that lets you clean your teeth thoroughly with the use of a streaming water. It is so useful not just for you but also to the whole family as the best water flosser comes with 4 jet tips so the other 3 can be shared too. 

Steps in Using Water Flosser

1. Fill the reservoir with warm water before placing it on the base.
2. Water flossers come with different tips so choose the one that you favored the most. 
3. Click the tip into the handle.
4. Turn on the water flosser and set the control dial too high to let the water flow. (The next time you will use it, you can set the control dial to any type of pressure you want.)
5. In a sink, you have to lean over so that the water won’t stream down to your clothes.
6. Place the tip at the gumline and let the water flow to clean each tooth. 
7. Move it from one gum to another.
8. Once you have finished flossing your teeth, turn the water flosser off and remove the tip.

Conclusion

You should floss your teeth thoroughly, this is the type of dental routine that must not be done quickly. So, if you're a person that is always in a hurry, you better get a water flosser. Because if you claim you floss your teeth everyday but miss some parts of your teeth, you will also miss the food debris and bacteria stuck in between your teeth. 

The key to the success of a dental routine is by brushing and using a water flosser for flossing!

Disclaimer:

The content in this article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare provider before making any changes to your health regimen. The author and publisher do not take responsibility for any consequences resulting from the information provided in this article.