Welcome back to our blog series on flossing tips! In our first blog, our dental clinic covered some of the ways in which flossing can be made into a habit. We’ll dive into a few more flossing details in this blog, all in the pursuit of getting you set up to have the dental health and hygiene that can make an extraordinary difference in your life as a whole. Stay tuned, and book your next visit with Frederick Smiles Dental Care today!
A Few More Flossing Tips
Why is flossing so important?
Before going over a few more tips on how to floss and make it a routine, it’s important to understand the “why.” According to Colgate, here are just a few things that flossing can reduce (or improve):
- Flossing, when combined with tooth brushing, helps reduce gingivitis.
- If gingivitis develops and is left untreated, it can lead to more serious periodontal disease.
- Periodontal disease can actually end up having negative implications on your heart, respiratory tract, and can even lead to higher risk of low birth weight (if pregnant moms are not flossing consistently).
- Flossing also lowers the risk of cavities developing, because it more accurately targets the dental plaque that builds between your gums and teeth.
Not only is flossing something our dental clinic recommends for your oral health and hygiene, but it’s an important factor in your overall health as well.
Start habits young.
Another tip we have for building flossing into your routine is to start building these habits early on. It’s much more difficult to get into flossing as an adult, if you’ve never done so or it wasn’t taught/expected as a child. In adulthood, it’s not too late to develop these habits, but if you have kids of your own, our dental clinic highly recommends you build these routines at an early age. Once your child’s teeth are close enough together (such as between the ages of two and six), this is a good time to start helping them floss. You’ll likely need to do it for several years until they take it over, but it’s a great habit to get them into — and one that will carry over for the years to come.
Set aside time.
One of the biggest reasons people don’t floss regularly is because — you guessed it — they don’t have the time. Or, at least, they say they don’t have the time. In order to make something a priority, you have to put the time into it. For flossing, you should try to do it at least once a day, before you get ready for bed. This might mean setting aside an additional five minutes in your routine, or starting to get ready for bed a few minutes earlier than normal. It might seem like a big adjustment at the time, but when you make flossing a priority, you’ll quickly fall into a new habit.
Visit the dentist!
Have questions about flossing, such as wondering if you’ve got the proper technique down? Contact our dental clinic in Frederick! We’d be more than happy to help you answer any questions or give you a demonstration on flossing. Schedule an appointment (or a regular cleaning) with Frederick Smiles Dental Care today!