Many people do not consider flossing an essential part of dental care. In fact, over 37% of Americans don’t floss daily despite many dentists recommending it.
If you’re one of the people who don’t floss daily, here are five reasons to start flossing:
· It improves your dental hygiene
Even if you regularly brush your teeth, you’re likely to have food remains between your teeth. This is because your toothbrush pushes some food particles in your teeth spaces instead of removing them.
Flossing at least twice a day helps to remove the food that remains stuck in between your teeth. This helps you maintain good dental hygiene. Therefore, make sure to keep floss picks in your backpack, car, or pocket.
· Makes brushing more effective
As we’ve already mentioned, brushing alone is not enough as it won’t dislodge food particles between your teeth. If these foods particles remain on your teeth, they’ll attract bacteria and ultimately cause cavity issues.
By flossing, you’ll remove the food stuck on your teeth that prevent your toothbrush from accessing those hard-to-reach areas.
If you cannot brush your teeth after flossing, gargle some mouthwash to remove the food remains you have removed from your teeth.
· It’s a money-saving experience
Floss picks you can use in a month cost around $5 at a local pharmacy, meaning you’ll incur around $60 per year. This may seem much, but if you consider that they will be saving you the cost of treating dental cavities, you’ll realize it’s a small amount.
Failure to floss can encourage bacteria growth in your mouth, which can cause tooth decay or even tooth loss. Replacing a missing tooth requires dental implants and root canals, which cost a lot of money.
So, to avoid going through these invasive and costly procedures, be a bit extravagant and purchase floss picks. If you brush, floss, use mouthwash regularly and go for regular dental exams, you can save a lot in dental procedures.
· Protects the gum
Your gum is an important part of your dental health. That’s why you need to take care of it. One way of protecting the gums is by flossing regularly as the removal of food particles on your mouth will keep infections such as gingivitis at bay.
· It protects you from diseases
Although proper diet and exercises steal all the limelight, dental health also impacts your overall health in some way. How? You may ask. Well, everything you eat passes through your mouth. That means, if there’s a huge amount of bacteria in your mouth, they’re likely to find their way into the blood.
Poor dental hygiene can lead to neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s and cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, protect yourself by maintaining good oral hygiene.
Final Thoughts
Flossing helps improve your dental hygiene and this ensures you enjoy all the above benefits. The good thing with flossing is that it only takes a few minutes. Make sure you learn the right flossing technique to get the best out of your flossing efforts.
If you are looking for a dentist, HPS Advanced Dental Care would love to see you. Dr. Heather is gladly accepting new patients.
We are located at 4741 24 Mile Rd. Shelby Township, MI 48316, and we can be reached at (248) 652-0024. We look forward to meeting you!
