Healthy gums don’t bleed, and are not painful to floss at all.
I’m in my 30s and only recently learned flossing technique and got my gums healthy. Flossing used to take so long and always involved a lot of bleeding no matter how delicate I was.
These days I’m absolute savage with floss and interdental brushes and never have any blood or pain.
Once you get your gums healthy you’ll be disgusted at yourself for ever not flossing. The amount of disgusting I can floss out on an almost daily basis is insane.
Plus you’re breath will not smell gross anymore.
It’s worth committing to the habit of flossing. Trust me.
Do yourself a favour and buy some biodegradable floss picks. String is a fucking nightmare.
Any suggestions? I haven’t really liked the sticks I’ve tried
Floss picks, or floss sticks?
I use these ones: https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/cXwAAOSwkMhfKe5i/s-l300.jpg
I like these ones because they keep the floss tight for a long time. Other picks I’ve tried go flaccid mid clean. Nothing worse than a floppy pick in your mouth.
I misread pick as stick, none of the stick ones have been that great. I’ve also had bad experiences with limp picks so thanks for recommending some nice hard picks!
Of course, my pleasure! And now a nice hard pick can be your pleasure too. Just be sure you get it deep in there to get your back teeth, and remember to use the tip.
or drop the big bucks on a water flosser.
THIS
Yes!! I use a water flosser after normal dental floss every night and it often still gets bits that normal floss missed. That’s my motivation for doing it every night, just knowing those food bits are in there…
wow, didn’t know this was a thing. Now I have a journey to try to discover the best option out there and get it
I bought the Waterpik deluxe version a while go and have come to regret it. It works fine, but it’s noisy as hell. I’ve been told the Panasonic version is much nicer and quieter. I’ll be picking one up shortly because I don’t need a jackhammer sound in the bathroom every time I waterfloss my teeth.
Still, a water flosser is very much worth it. They clean well, and my dentist has remarked on how good everything looks with my gums when I’ve been using it regularly. Even if the Waterpik was all I could have, I would still keep using it despite the noise.
My teeth are just really tightly togheter… I have absolutely no idea where an interdental brush would even go, it just bends and breaks if I try to push it between my teeth. Even getting the floss in there is already hard.
The only interdental brush I find I can use is Piksters. All the others bend so easily.
I wish they were cheaper.
Yeah the piksters ones are the way to go
I also have tightly packed teeth and can barely use interdental brushes on just some of them. What works well however are dental floss sticks, you can get them with pretty thin floss(es?) and they’re way easier to use than plain floss.
Dental floss sticks are great, but I started to worry about the amount of plastic waste, so I switched to a floss holder. I use the toothbat, but there are others out there in the marketplace.
Oral b pro glide works well. Pay for the more expensive floss and you won’t have this issue as much.
my dentist recommends the waterpik instead of flossing, he says floss can damage tissue if this is the case.
Try the pink interprox ones. They are the thinnest ones.
Otherwise ask your dentist if they can show you how to use them. Just because your teeth are really tight together doesn’t mean that there won’t be any buildup of food or other things.
I can get floss in between mine, but my dentist says that tighter together teeth get less food stuck in there (although I’m sure there are different levels where it can start to be bad)
There are other forms of flossing strings for this problem. Have the same problem and i would never go back to normal string again
Waterpik m8
Yeah, I have right teeth and my dentist recommended a water pick. Works great but I still floss occasionally as I’m worried the water pick can’t get everything.
From many dental visits, pared down:
Brush light, floss hard. Some minor bleeding from flossing, weirdly, is actually ok. Just go easy on that spot until it’s not sore anymore, then ease into going hard again. These two things are mostly what will make getting poked with all that metal shit not bother you so much.
You only need to floss at night. You aren’t putting food in your mouth while you sleep.
Electric toothbrushes are legit improvements, not gimmicks. Get one if you can.
100xThis
That junk you get out when you floss actually smells just like bad breath. Might seem obvious but always good to keep in mind when you’re feeling too lazy to floss.
Started using a waterpick because of this post.
Yeah, I have noticed this too. I try to keep my teeth in good health and when I started flossing more regularly, I’d noticed I barely have any breeding. I’d bought an water flossing to try it so it become more of daily rather than twice a week type of affair.
Are those waterflossers any good?
No. Recently asked the same question to an expert. She told me that they are shit.
That could be the one out of four dentists that disagrees. Ask four more and report back.
expanding floss feels so good.
Best motivation to floss? Do it once and smell the floss string after, our mouths are truly vile.
It’s kinda disgustingly satisfying when you pull gunk out. Then to think I never used to floss and that gunk used to just stay there…. 🤢
What is flossing? Seriously, though. I floss once every 6 months when I go to the dentist. Never any other time and I’ve NEVER had a cavity. Needing to floss is a conspiracy based on the anecdotal evidence of one 33 yr old male (me) by big dental hygiene to scare you into buy more tooth picking string.
What are seatbelts? Seriously, though. I wear my seatbelt once every 6 months when I drive to the mechanic. Never any other time and I’ve NEVER been launched out of my windshield during a catastrophic 16 car pileup. Needing to wear a seatbelt is a conspiracy based on anecdotal evidence of one 32 yr old male (me) by big automobile to scare you into looking like a pussy.
Yours isn’t funny. Mine kind of was, but like…not really…but yours truly isn’t funny and comes off as try hard ish. Just giving constructive feedback, kiddo.
Lol downvote and move on.
P.S. if you call other people kids, the default assumption people make is that you’re actually a kid. Just giving some constructive feedback, buddy.
You’re probably the most annoying person I’ve ever encountered and I’ve only read 2 comments. Yowza, get some help or friends or some type of hole to shove your stinky lil pp into.
feels like home
Flossing is not done to prevent cavaties, but is done to remove plague. If you never floss, plague will build, your gums will become inflamed, your gums will pull away from your teeth and your jaw bone will deteriorate and at some point your teeth will become loose, painful and ugly. So if you want good teeth until old age you need to floss. Brushing only takes away 80% of the plague. Flossing removes the other 20%.
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Everything you wrote is true, and I endorse it 100%, but there is a typo that definitely changes the meaning of your comment. The primary purpose of flossing is to remove plaque, not the plague.
That said, flossing will ultimately result in a healthier oral microbiome and thus can prevent future illness, so preventing plague is technically still possible.
Thank you for sharing this important detail.
Hahah woopz :)
if only they knew that in the 14th century, millions of lives would have been saved
Many body parts are still healthy with mid 30. Time will show you how the body breaks down.
Good point but my dad…same thing. I hit the genetic lottery in many ways, teeth is one of those ways. Everything seems to be in solid, working order with the exception of my ass. Ever had a torn asshole despite being hydrated, and eating healthy including fiber? Fkn want to cry every time I poop.
Today I learned… Well, I’ll be flossing more often :)
It’s weird that I actually kinda enjoy flossing now ever since I started doing it consistently every night. There’s something satisfying about getting all that gunk out.
I feel the same, it’s like now after I eat I can kinda feel like there’s stuck food in there and it irks me until I remove it. It’s kinda gross now if I can’t remove it immediately.
Thank you for reminding me to floss! And all the reasons my teeth will fall out on their own…… I don’t floss
I have two permanent retainers in and I find flossing to be so difficult with it.
I’m also terrible with dental hygiene in general. I’m lucky if I remember to brush my teeth at least once a day.
There’s floss with kind of a fishing line in one end of every ready-cut piece of strand. Oral B Super Floss is available where I live. You can use the rigid line to guide the floss under the retainer.
Add a waterpik into the mix. It doesn’t replace actual flossing but can be really helpful as a supplement, especially in hard-to-reach areas.
I’ll look into that, thank you!
Dentists here (UK) stopped recommending flossing years ago. IIRC they actively discourage you from flossing. Instead the recommend interdental brushes
This is news to me. My teeth are hella tightly packed tho.
