Are You Flossing Wrong?

Check and see if you’re committing one of these 5 common flossing errors

If you want to keep strong, healthy teeth your whole life long, proper oral care at home is absolutely essential. Simply brushing and flossing daily can provide powerful protection against tooth decay and gum disease, the two leading causes of tooth loss in America.

For the best possible protection, however, it isn’t enough to just brush and floss; you have to brush and floss correctly! Fortunately, this is easy to do when you understand the basics of brushing and flossing technique.

Let’s take a look at 5 common mistakes people make when flossing so you can learn to avoid these mistakes at home and keep your teeth cleaner and healthier.

Not Flossing Daily

The first mistake people make is simply not flossing consistently on a daily basis. Failing to floss allows food particles and bacteria to accumulate in the hard-to-reach spaces between teeth. Eventually the acids produced by the bacteria can cause the teeth to develop cavities. Don’t give them a chance to do this! Clear them out every day by flossing.

Using Too Little Floss

Another common mistake is not using enough floss. You really need about 18 inches of floss to do your whole mouth. Why? Because you want to use a new section of floss for every tooth. This helps ensure that the floss never gets so dirty that it’s no longer removing food and bacteria but instead just spreading them around.

Skipping Back Teeth

People who feel pressed for time or who have trouble with dexterity may be tempted to skip hard-to-reach teeth in the back of the mouth. Unfortunately, these teeth are also hard to brush so if you don’t take extra special care of them they may be prone to cavities. If you have trouble reaching your back teeth with standard dental floss try using a floss holder.

Snapping the Floss

Sometimes you may have to use some force to get the floss down in tight spaces between teeth. However, you want to be careful to avoid allowing the floss to snap against the gums, as this causes unnecessary trauma on the tissue. Use a gentle up-and-down motion to clean teeth, not a violent snapping motion.

Neglecting the Gum Line

One final flossing mistake is failing to clean around the gum line. You want to make sure you curve the floss so you can gently follow the contours of the tooth all the way down to the gum line. This helps clean bacteria out of gum pockets and prevent gum disease. If your gums bleed a little when you first start using this technique, don’t worry. But if pain or bleeding during flossing continues for more than two weeks, visit your dentist for a gum disease evaluation.