DENTAL FLOSSING

Oral hygiene is incomplete without dental flossing. Dental flossing is an action using a cord of thin filaments to remove food and dental plaque from between teeth.

Habitually, most of us are used to brushing teeth and usage of mouthwash. Flossing helps in cleaning on the areas that cannot be reached by the brush. Therefore, flossing by guiding the strings in between teeth and gently curves it around the teeth in outward motion, your optimum oral hygiene can be achieved. 

Without dental flossing, we are neglecting the hygiene at least 1/3 of the surface of the teeth and its and ideal area for building up of food particles and bacteria. Further consequences, it causes dental disease such as gingivitis and dental caries due to forgoing the importance of flossing.

Difficulty in biting or chewing, talking or bad mouth breath are one of the symptoms of incorrect oral hygiene habits. All this probably due to particles of food stuck and dental plaque in secluded area in between teeth.

If there is gum bleeding during flossing, there is a few reasons why these keep happening:

1. Incorrect usage such as wrong techniques and over pressure can cause trauma to the gums and cause it to bleed.
2. The early sign of gums disease such as gingivitis. Unhealthy gums can easily bleed during flossing or even conventional teeth brushing. 

 

                   

  

• Steps of effective dental flossing:

 

1. After pulling out around 18 inches of floss, wrap it around both of your middle finger leaving an inch in between those two fingers. Stretch it.
2. Guide the floss in between the curvature of the teeth towards the gumline, moving it inward and outward around the teeth gently.
3. Don’t forget the back tooth.
4. Make sure flossing using the clean string from one tooth to another by releasing the wrap on your finger slowly.

 

Source: myhealth.gov.my

                                       

Date of Input: 28/08/2019 | Updated: 28/08/2019 | nur_hazalina