The Importance of Flossing

The Importance of Flossing

The one thing people can’t be bothered to do or never get round to. Cleaning in between their teeth. Happily you will brush your teeth but often ignore flossing, still thinking your teeth and mouth are clean.

Trust me, a toothbrush, regardless how top of the range, will not clean in between your teeth. In fact by not flossing you have only cleaned 2/3rds of your teeth surfaces. In between the teeth resides bacteria and food particles. If left this will lead to bacteria attacking the teeth and cavities. The number of cavities I see in otherwise clean mouths is phenomenal and this could have been easily prevented by spending 1-2 minutes once a day flossing.

The bacteria left behind will also lead to odours and bad breath. Next time you floss, smell it afterwards. You will understand what I mean.

I look in a lot of mouths everyday and its instantly clear if a patient flosses or not. The gums are healthy and pale pink, don’t bleed and there is no halitosis. Surely we all want our mouths like this? Also, these mouths are nearly always without decay and the patients probably have never lost a tooth. Sound good? Then floss!

David Hurst BDS (Lon)