Why flossing should be a habit: Dentist explains

MANILA, Philippines — You brush your teeth and even your tongue as diligently as possible. Twice a week, and at least for two minutes each time you do. You brush your upper teeth and then your lower teeth, brushing with up and down strokes and then side to side to really clean them up. You use fluoride toothpaste and gargle with mouthwash, plus replace your toothbrush every four months. Yet you still get tooth decay.

This is because brushing alone, no matter how vigilantly you do it, is not enough. You need to match it with regular flossing. No oral care routine is ever complete without including flossing, or cleaning between the teeth, with a thin, soft, waxed cord.

Sadly, while flossing is a crucial part of oral health, it is the least practiced habit across the board. A survey conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention shows that 32.4% of 9,000 American respondents never flossed. A local survey by the University of the Philippines College of Dentistry reveals an even more glaring truth in the local front—90% of Filipinos suffering from tooth decay do not floss.

“The goal of brushing and flossing is the same—to remove the accumulation of plaque, which is the sticky deposit on teeth where bacteria proliferate. While brushing targets plaque on the front and back of your teeth, flossing removes plaque between your teeth and underneath your gums, where germs thrive. Leave plaque in these hard-to-reach areas and you set yourself up for cavities, bad breath, and even serious gum diseases like gingivitis and periodontitis,” said Regina Isabel S. Morales, DMD, of the Dental Medicine Department of Makati Medical Center (MakatiMed).

Flossing is particularly important for people who have heart valve conditions because they are especially vulnerable to gum disease. “The bacteria in your mouth could travel through your bloodstream, find their way to your heart, and infect your heart’s valves,” Dr. Morales explained.

To take serious steps to improve your oral health by incorporating flossing into your routine, here are some suggestions:

Choose a regular time to floss every day and stick to that schedule. Whether it is more convenient and comfortable for you to floss after breakfast in the morning or before going to bed at night, just do it. This way, flossing becomes a habit that you do at a certain time of the day. “Flossing once a day is recommended, and when to do it is a personal preference. What’s important is to stick to the habit so it becomes second nature, just like brushing,” said Dr. Morales.

Floss before you brush your teeth. In a study published in the Journal of Periodontology, researchers discovered that when participants flossed their teeth before brushing, they significantly reduced the amount of plaque in their mouth and teeth, as compared to when they brushed first and flossed after. “The conclusion is that flossing loosens plaque and debris between the teeth, and brushing and rinsing with water and a mouthwash after rids the mouth of these particles,” Dr. Morales said.

If you don’t like flossing your teeth, there are alternatives that you can try. What’s important is that you get to clean between your teeth, and there are other ways to get the job done. You can try using interdental brushes, a water floss, or floss picks or sticks. “Interdental brushes are tiny toothbrushes that are soft enough to fit between teeth. A water floss is a handheld device that releases a strong jet of water to remove particles between the teeth. And floss picks or floss sticks are small handles with two end posts that hold a string of floss together. Instead of wrapping floss around your fingers, simply hold the floss pick handle and start flossing,” Dr. Morales explained.

Flossing regularly can eliminate up to 40% of plaque from your teeth, so once you start flossing daily, expect improvements to happen in your overall oral health. But you need to back it up with a twice-a-year visit to your dentist, so he (or she) can check your teeth for cavities and you get a thorough professional cleaning.

Note, too, that once you have foul odor or bleeding when you floss, chances are that you may already have periodontal disease or cavities that are causing these symptoms. This makes that twice-a-year trip to the dentist’s clinic even more important so you can address any oral health problems you may already have. 

RELATED: Oral Health Month: List of diseases linked to poor oral hygiene