Today, we're talking about the best floss for teeth. At Healthy Smiles of Staten Island, we believe that good oral hygiene starts with a firm foundation of home care. We're always happy to help our patients create the smile of their dreams, but we firmly believe that the less we have to do, the better. It's always best to keep your natural teeth as healthy as possible over the long run. So today, we want to talk about the best floss for teeth.
The first thing to know is that any flossing is better than no flossing. Studies have shown again and again that flossing is key in keeping gingivitis and other gum disease at bay. There are places between the teeth and along the gums that brushing just can't get no matter how fancy your toothbrush is. That's why flossing is so important. It gets into most of the nooks and crannies that your toothbrush can't.
That's a key point because food debris is the perfect breeding ground for bacteria. This bacteria grows and flourishes in a warm environment like the mouth when it has a food source like the food debris trapped between teeth. If regular flossing isn't done that bacteria grows and multiplies creating the perfect environment for oral health problems like gum disease. If left unchecked it can even lead to tooth loss.
Whether you use a Waterpik, traditional floss, or flossers, the main thing to keep in mind is that you use something - because most people don't, unfortunately. So really, the best floss for teeth is any flossing mechanism. That being said, we do want you to know your options, so we'll be talking about the common methods of flossing and how they benefit your teeth and gums.
Traditional floss has been around for decades. It's a waxy string that you roll around each index finger and then slide between your teeth all the up to the gum line. This floss works well, but can be a bit finicky at times. Requiring repositioning on the hands and trying to fit your fingers into your mouth when you need to reach back to floss your back molars.
Flossers are hand-held plastic devices that have a length of floss stretched across a "Y" at one end. Flosser make it easier to floss because all you have to do is hold on to the handle. They make reaching the molar area of the mouth much easier than standard floss, as well. The only drawback to flossers is that you can't reposition the floss so that you have clean floss every time you go between the spaces of your teeth. Instead, you'll need to rinse the flosser between each tooth.
Water flossers forego traditional floss altogether. Instead, they use a gentle jet of water to help you remove debris lodged between your teeth. Water flossers are excellent because they can remove all the debris that traditional flossing does without the gum irritation that goes along with the floss string.
The best floss for teeth is whatever you feel most comfortable with. One of our major points of pride here at Healthy Smiles of Staten Island is that we work with our patients to find the right treatments and long-term care options that work for them. We don't believe in pushing a one-size-fits-all approach, and we take that philosophy to all aspects of dental care.
If you're looking for the best floss for teeth, we recommend you give each method a try and find the one that gives you the results you want in the most comfortable manner possible. If you enjoy your method of flossing, you're more likely to do it. That's important because flossing is not only one of the most important parts of good oral health, it's also one of the most overlooked ones.
