You hear that line just about every time you go to the dentist. You hear it from the hygienist. You hear it from the dentist. We say it a hundred times a day. What is it with dentists and flossing?

Basically, flossing is a way to clean in between the teeth. Your toothbrush can do a really good job on the front and back of the teeth, especially if you are using a really good electric toothbrush. The big problem is that brushing cannot get in between the teeth. Most people think they do a “good enough job” cleaning their teeth because they brush really well. The two sides that the toothbrush can’t get to cannot be cleaned without flossing. So if you’re not flossing, that’s two out of the five surfaces that are not cleaned. That’s 40% of the tooth. So if you clean the other areas really well, that’s only 60% of the tooth that gets cleaned with just brushing. I don’t know anyone who is happy with a grade of 60%!

A lot of people think flossing is about getting food particles out of the spaces between your teeth after you eat. That is only a small part of what flossing does. Plaque forms on all tooth surfaces. Plaque is the film that contains the bugs that cause cavities and gum problems. Frictional rubbing removes the plaque film. On the front, back and top, the friction of the toothbrush removes the plaque, but to remove the plaque on the sides of the tooth, floss is needed to rub off the plaque. Once the floss is passed in between the teeth it needs to be curved across the side of the tooth. The floss should then be pulled back and forth, up and down the height of the tooth and under the edge of the gum. To do this, the floss must be hugging the side of the tooth. This is very important. The floss acts like a buffing cloth, the friction of the movement cleans the plaque off the tooth.

Remember, you are cleaning a layer of slime off the surfaces of the tooth. This requires several motions, not just popping it in and out. After that, before you remove the floss, wrap the floss around the curve of the tooth next to it and curve it and clean that surface with the same shimmying up and down motion.

When the plaque is allowed to sit, the toxins eat away at the tooth’s hardness and cause cavities. Lack of flossing is the cause of cavities in between the teeth! Bone loss and gum disease are the other main results of poor flossing habits. The plaque collecting under the gum hardens into calcified masses. The toxins the bacteria release causes the bone to dissolve under the gum. This is the origin of gum disease. Effective flossing goes a long way to controlling the extent of these problems.

The time has come to stop failing your check up exams. Let’s eliminate those scores of 60% and move up the flossing honor roll!