Cleaning the tight spaces and crevices between your teeth helps to keep gum disease and cavities at bay. It also helps to remove food particles and plaque from your teeth.
Millions of bacteria that live in plaque convert food particles in your mouth into acids that can damage the enamel of your teeth and lead to gum disease.
Brushing your teeth is an effective way to remove most of the food particles and plaque on your teeth, but there are many tight spaces in your mouth that no toothbrush can reach. Flossing helps to keep these tight spaces as clean as the rest of your teeth.
If plaque is left on your teeth and not removed by flossing and brushing, it will eventually harden into tartar. This is a hard, yellow substance that gives your teeth a yellow tint. Tartar also facilitates tooth decay and gum disease. Tartar cannot be removed by brushing and flossing, and it requires a professional tooth cleaning by a dentist.
When it comes to your oral hygiene, the most important thing is that you brush and floss daily. The time of day you decide to do it does not usually matter much. It is okay if you decide to floss first thing in the morning, right after lunch, or right before you go to bed. It is really a matter of preference. Most people like to start the day with a clean mouth and fresh breath, but there is no rule that says you need to brush or floss first thing in the morning.
What can be beneficial to your oral health is scheduling cleaning times after you have eaten. Especially if you are consuming things that are not particularly good for your teeth.
It is tempting to use anything you can find to clean your teeth when there is something stuck between them. Items people often use to clean out their teeth include cards, fingernails, cutlery, and safety pins.
Besides being a lot less effective than dental floss, many of these items can damage your teeth and gums. Always try to stick with tools that are for cleaning the spaces between your teeth like string floss, dental picks, water flossers and specialized brushes.
All of these specialized tools have their purpose. For example, water flossers are a great option if you have dental prosthetics that make it difficult to floss like bridges or braces, while toothpicks can help you remove food particles from hard to reach places. Most people tend to use a combination of these tools to clean the spaces between their teeth daily.
Flossing should be an integral part of your daily oral care routine. It'll help you keep tooth decay and gum disease at bay. Want more tips on how to properly take care of your teeth? Contact a dentist today.
Please call Visalia Care Dental today at (559) 975-1213 or go to https://www.dentistofvisalia.com for more information!
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