Thinking of cutting flossing out of your dental regime? Four reasons not to by Craigentinny

As a professional dental surgery, our team at Craigentinny gets asked a fair array of questions about preventive dentistry.

Brushing your teeth twice a day and attending regular check-ups are important, but there is so much more you can do to prevent both decay and gum disease at home. And, one way to prevent both periodontal disease and decay is as simple as brushing.

We are talking about flossing.

Before you groan and think of a way to downplay its importance to dental hygiene, flossing is incredibly important for maintaining dental care. Yet, up to 80% of dental patients don’t floss their teeth after they brush. Shocking!

At Craigentinny, our dental hygienist in Edinburgh can help you to maintain good dental health and can advise you on other ways to prevent issues with your dental hygiene before they occur. We can show your children too! Teaching a correct brushing and flossing technique is essential to keeping their teeth white and their mouths healthy!

But, back to adult dentistry; why is flossing twice a day so important? Our dental hygienist in Edinburgh will explain.

More effective

OK, so, while brushing your teeth is a great way to clean the fronts and the backs of them, how can you ensure that you have cleaned those small gaps between your teeth? With flossing!

If you want to maintain a thorough and effective dental regime, our dental hygienist in Edinburgh recommends flossing your teeth after you brush.

Providing a more thorough clean for your teeth, it prevents the build-up of bacteria in those hard to reach places, which can turn into cavities or tartar. It’s not worth the risk!

Gum protection

Obviously, while flossing gives the surface of your teeth a more thorough clean, it also provides your gums with a more intense clean too.

While we recommend flossing your gums gently (don’t make them bleed!), it can be surprisingly effective at removing plaque or bacteria. Left unchecked, these microscopic nasties increase the risk of gum disease. So, get some floss and get flossing!

Other diseases can be prevented

You have probably heard of the link between plaque accumulation in the mouth and other conditions, such as heart disease.

These statements are not to just scare you into performing better oral hygiene! There is a substantial link between plaque, gum disease, decay, and cardiovascular issues, diabetes, and even cancer. The reason? If left in place, plaque and bacteria cause inflammation of the gums, making them more porous. In turn, this allows more microbes access to the bloodstream, which can cause havoc on the other systems in your body.

Brush and floss regularly!

Reduces bad breath

Bad breath is not only a social faux-pas, but it is not fun to have either.

While mouthwash can help eradicate this in the short-term, regular flossing will remove odour causing bacteria, leaving you with fresh, minty breath and a glowing smile to match.

So, make sure that the next time you brush your teeth that you floss them too!