It’s the dreaded question. Your teeth are being cleaned, and you notice the hygienist is taking an awful long time flossing and picking at your teeth. That’s when it happens, “How often do you floss?” Too often the response is “not very often.” It’s more difficult to build a flossing habit because there’s no instant gratification. With tooth brushing, patients’ teeth feel immediately clean, their breath fresh. After flossing, teeth may look dirtier since the plaque and bacteria are pulled from between teeth, and the mouth can feel gritty after flossing. Worse, many patients experience irritated or bleeding gums for the first several weeks of flossing. The good news is that, when patients floss every day for one week, almost all of these complaints go away, and teeth begin to feel better. The challenge is forcing yourself to floss every day with irritated gums and little if any noticeable improvement in oral health. At Amberly Dental, we challenge you to floss every day for one month. We guarantee you’ll notice an improvement in your gums and overall smile health.
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