Flossing is important because it cleans the tooth surfaces that are missed by your toothbrush - namely all the surfaces and gaps between your teeth. You may have recently visited the dentist and had your dentist tell you to floss more. You may not have even gone to the dentist and know you should floss more. But why is flossing important? What happens if we don’t floss? Do we really need to floss every day? How do I floss? These are some of the many questions, we will address in this article.

Overview

1) Flossing: An Overview

2) Why should I floss? Why is flossing important?

3) When should I floss? How often should I floss?

4) Why does flossing cause my gums to bleed?

5) How do I floss? How to floss?

6) What type of floss should I use? Are there alternatives to flossing if I find flossing hard?

7) At what age should children start flossing?

8) Do water flossers work?

1) Flossing: An Overview

Flossing is the act of using dental floss to clean in between the gaps of the teeth. Flossing is just the most common and most well known method, so more often than not, cleaning between the teeth is called flossing. It is actually just one of the many different methods to clean in between the gaps of the teeth. The technical term for the gaps between the teeth are the interdental (interproximal) spaces. Other methods to clean in between the teeth include using flossettes, interdental brushes, floss holders, waterflossers. According to the Australian Dental Association, 80% of Australian adults brush their teeth two or more times per day, but only 25% of Australian adults floss or clean between their teeth every day. So three quarters of Australian adults don’t floss daily. That is a staggering statistic!

2) Why should I floss? Why is flossing important?

Cleaning between the teeth helps to remove the food and bacteria that collect between the gaps of the teeth which can lead to tooth decay and gum disease. Dental plaque are all the chalky bits of leftover food scraps left inside our mouth. When it is mixed with our saliva and the 750+ different types of bacteria found in our mouth, it becomes quite a complicated ecosystem. There are always good and bad bacteria inside the mouth and it’s all about having a balance and equilibrium so there is peace.

The purpose of brushing and flossing is to remove the plaque from all the surfaces of your teeth. So in essence it is to help maintain the peace.

But plaque can build up very quickly because we eat every day, often more than two or three times a day. Bad bacteria are particularly attracted to the plaque because it is a source of food for them, and so if there is too much plaque inside the mouth, the bad bacteria can grow and multiply very quickly. When the peace is disrupted, this can lead to tooth decay (cavities) and gum disease.

When we use a toothbrush to clean our teeth, it cleans on the front, back, biting surfaces of the teeth, but it doesn’t clean in between all the surfaces and gaps between the teeth. And that is where flossing is important. A look at the research (which included 12 large studies) revealed that flossing in addition to toothbrushing can help reduce gingivitis (gum inflammation) when compared to just toothbrushing alone.

In the older population, those aged 65 years old and over, one large study with over 650 individuals showed that those who flossed regularly had less periodontal disease, less tooth decay, and loss of fewer teeth over a 5 year period.

3) When should I floss? How often should I floss?

Everyone should floss at least once a day. It is ideal to floss at night because that's when there's the most amount of food/plaque buildup from all the eating during the day. If you have gum disease, you should floss after every meal. The reality is that no matter how good you are at brushing, your toothbrush can’t get into the gaps between your teeth. The toothbrush bristles are simply not able to clean in between these small spaces. The toothbrush can clean on the biting surfaces of the teeth as well as the tooth surfaces that face the lips, cheeks and tongue. You can floss before or after brushing - both methods will work and do the job in keeping your teeth and gums healthy!

4) Why does flossing cause my gums to bleed?

Your gums are NOT bleeding because you brushed or flossed too hard. Your gums are bleeding because there is plaque build up along your gums. The plaque attracts the germs, the body doesn’t like the germs so it sends blood to where the plaque is to fight the germs off. When you brush the plaque off, you reduce the germs, and in doing so, reduce the bleeding because there is no longer a threat from the plaque and germs to the body. The rule of thumb to follow is to brush more or floss more wherever you see more bleeding on your gums. With continued regular dental care, you should see less bleeding and healthier gums.

For a more detailed explanation on bleeding gums - read our article: Ask the Dentist - Why do my gums bleed?

5) How do I floss? How to floss?

The key to flossing is to slide the floss up and down and side to side in the gaps between all the teeth, allowing the floss the slide underneath the loose gumline.
Step 1) Get a piece of floss about 45 cm long grip it firmly between your the thumb and index finger of your left and right hand.
Step 2) Keeping the thumbs and index fingers close together, gently slide the floss down between the contact point of the teeth, it is normal to meet a bit of resistance at the contact point. Take care not to press downwards or upwards too hard and risk hurting your gums.
Step 3) Once you have the floss down past the contact point of your teeth, use a side-to-side and up and down motion to slide the floss along the surfaces of both teeth .
Step 4) Remember to also clean the gum line of the tooth, which is the point where the tooth meets the gums - as you rub the floss towards the gum line, you will notice the floss sliding down below the gum line. That is normal and that is the area you want to clean well with the floss because plaque can get trapped underneath the gum line

For a video demonstration, check out this video from the American Dental Association on how to floss your teeth

6) What type of floss should I use? Are there alternatives to flossing if I find flossing hard?

You can start off with just some basic Oral B Essential Floss, but use whatever floss works and feels comfortable for you. There are flavoured floss and non flavoured floss, waxed and unwaxed floss. There are tape floss, string floss and thick floss. Some people may find flossing tedious and clumsy. Some just find flossing plain uncomfortable. If using floss isn’t your cup of tea, there are definitely lots of alternative methods to flossing.

Flossette - Flossettes are made from plastic with 2 ends - one end with a plastic handle and one end with a fork end that holds a short piece of floss. You hold the handle end to help control and slide the floss end between the spaces between your teeth. Some flossettes have handle ends that also double up as a plastic toothpick

Interdental brushes can be straight or angled

Floss Holder - similar to the flossette. With this plastic floss holder, you will manually tie the floss to the floss holder before flossing.

Interdental Brush - A small plastic stick with a thin wire sticking out with small bristles attached to the wire. It looks like a miniature pipe cleaner and you thread the thin wire in between the gaps of your teeth to clean the spaces. Use in an up and down, side to side motion to clean in the whole space between the teeth. Make sure to use the correct size, there are lots of different sizes to cater for the different sized gaps between the teeth. Make sure to rinse and wipe the brush after using because these interdental brushes are reusable. Can be useful for people with braces

Water Flossers - These are electronic devices that spray pressurized water out through a small nozzle to allow you to clean in between your teeth. As technology advances, so do the range of water flossers that are available on the market. Different features may include the pressure setting, water pulses, portable vs non portable. Waterpik is a well respected and trusted brand. Very useful for people with braces, implants, crowns

7) At what age should children start flossing?

Flossing as early as possible is going to be great. Flossing can helps to prevent tooth decay from forming in between the gaps of your child’s baby teeth. A good time to start is when your child is around 6 years old when they are starting to lose their baby teeth and transition to their adult teeth. They are also at an age where their manual dexterity is getting better and better. A child doesn’t get all their adult teeth coming out until around the ages of 12 to 13 years of age, so starting at around age 6 gives them about 6 years of practising their flossing technique and habits. The earlier you start your child with flossing the better. Once they hit their teens, it will be hard for them to build the habit. It is also going to be hard to get them into a regular habit of flossing if the parents don’t floss themselves. Monkey see monkey do.

8) Do water flossers work?

The resounding evidence is that YES, water flossers do work. Some studies show that water flossers work just as well as regular floss. And one study suggested that it is of particular use for those with poor manual dexterity. And some studies say it works BETTER than regular flossing. A 2013 study published in the Journal of Clinical Dentistry compared a water flosser to regular floss when both were used in combination with a manual toothbrush. The results of the study showed that the group who used the Waterpik water flosser had a 74.4% reduction in plaque compared to a 57.7 percent reduction in the group who used the regular floss.

DISCLAIMER: The information contained on this website should NOT be used as a substitute for the medical or dental advice of an appropriately qualified and licensed dentist, doctor or other health care provider. The information provided here is general in nature and should be used for informational purposes only.

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