As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, cleaning between your teeth regularly should be an integral part of your daily oral hygiene regime. It allows you to reach areas of your mouth that a toothbrush can’t get to, reducing plaque build up and removing food particles.
We recommend interdental brushes for most people, but you need to check what size of brush to use – your dentist or hygienist can help advise you with this. If you have tighter gaps then floss is the next best option.
To gain maximum benefit from your flossing, I suggest that you follow these simple steps:
1. Buy a flossing product that suits you and that you’ll be comfortable using each day. This could be string or satin tape, an electric flosser or a disposable flosser.
2. Floss gently between each tooth, taking care not to saw too intensely as this might damage the gum.
3. Don’t forget the backs of your molars! Difficult for you to reach but easy for food to get lodged into.
4. If using tape, break off a length of about 45cm. Holding the tape taut, pull into a ‘C’ shape around a tooth. Slide up and down gently, getting below the gum line.
5. Use clean sections of floss as you move between teeth
To get you started, here are some of the interdental cleaning products we recommend:
Wisdom Clean Between interdental brushes – my current favourite – easy to use, gum-friendly, lots of them in a packet, and a simple selection of sizes. We stock loads of these at Coppice View so call in any time and we can show you which ones are best for you.
In my opinion (and I’m not receiving commission for this) Oral B make some of the better flosses on the market – Their “Satin Floss” or the slightly thicker “Satin Tape” are great – really smooth between the teeth and don’t shred in the way some flosses can.
Although they are difficult to track down, I think these might be my favourite flossing invention: http://www.gumchucksprofloss.com/
I haven’t tried them yet but let us know if you do – we’d love to know how you find them…..
Mike