Key Elements of Flossing
Manhattan Dental Office | Upper East Side Smile Makeover
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Flossing on a daily basis is a key part to any oral healthcare routine. Flossing can help remove plaque in hard to reach areas that a toothbrush cannot come into contact with, while also preventing gum disease. Flossing is helpful to your oral health, as long as you're flossing correctly. "It doesn't matter whether you start with your upper or lower teeth, or whether you start in the front or the back. Just make sure that you floss all your teeth, including the back side of the very last tooth on the left, right, top and bottom of your mouth," Oral B explains. "And don't forget to floss under the gum line and along the sides of teeth that border any spaces where teeth are missing -- food particles can become trapped in these spaces too."
The American Dental Hygienists' Association provided the key elements for the proper flossing technique in just four simple steps. The first step is the wind. The American Dental Hygienists' Association recommends you use 18 inches of floss and wind it around each of your middle fingers. Then, pinch the floss between your thumbs and index fingers, leaving a one or two-inch distance between them. Use your thumbs to direct the floss between your upper teeth.
The next step is guiding. Keeping the one to two-inch length of floss between your fingers, use your index fingers to guide the floss between contacts of the lower teeth. This will help you steadily and accurately reach the lower teeth and gum line. Next, the glide of your flossing is important. “Gently guide floss between the teeth by using a zigzag motion,” Oral B states. You should not snap floss between your teeth, but rather contour floss around the sides of each tooth with a smooth gliding motion. Finally, the slide. Sliding floss up and down against the tooth surface and under the gum line is the ideal way to navigate floss. You should floss each tooth thoroughly and with a clean section of the floss for the best results.
At the dental office of Joseph C. Lattinelli, DMD, it is important to us that your teeth are well taken care of. If you're looking to make an appointment, you can simply visit our website and fill out a quick form to visit our practice for a dental cleaning or checkup. We look forward to seeing you soon!