Flossing Technique

Flossing is always an important part of oral hygiene, but that’s especially true if you missed a regular cleaning during the stay-at-home order. We at Southern Cross Dental in Colorado Springs want to ensure that our patients are still taking good care of themselves while socially distancing, so we thought it would be a good time to discuss flossing technique.

 

You’ll need about fifteen to eighteen inches of floss to do a thorough job. Wrapping the floss around your middle fingers will allow you to more easily manipulate it using your index fingers and thumbs. Keeping about an inch of floss taut, you’ll want to slide it along the side of each tooth as far as it will go without hurting your gums, and then pull it toward the tooth to wrap it along the tooth’s side. Wiggle it back and forth as you move it back out to make sure you’re gathering as much plaque from the tooth as possible. Keep unspooling more floss as you move from tooth to tooth so you don’t just spread the plaque around, and don’t forget to floss the backs of your back teeth.

 

Remember, plaque can accumulate on the sides of prosthetic teeth, and needs to be cleaned from them, as well. If you have trouble moving the floss, you may benefit from a flosser. If you have braces, you may want to look into floss with stiffened tips that will be easier to thread behind orthodontic wires. You may floss before you brush your teeth or after, but don’t forget to floss at least once a day, and to schedule your make-up appointment as soon as possible.

 

Drs. Navid and Faranak Rahimpour operate Southern Cross Dental at 1855 S Nevada Ave, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 80905. To schedule an appointment, call 719-471-1717 or visit Southern Cross Dental.