Know The Importance Of Flossing Your Teeth

Oral hygiene treatments in New Lenox
By Nelson Ridge Family Dental

Flossing regularly is essential for good tooth hygiene. Plaque can build up between your teeth and along your gum line if you don’t floss. This can raise your risk of tooth decay and gum disease over time. Interdental cleaners like floss, according to the American Dental Association (ADA), are essential for eliminating plaque and debris from regions where a toothbrush can’t reach.

Here at Nelson Ridge Family Dental, we always inform people about the importance of maintaining an oral hygiene routine, and flossing is often considered to be an integral part of it. Keeping this in mind, our dentists have come up with the benefits of flossing regularly.

Benefits Of Flossing Your Teeth

It feels great to get a stray piece of popcorn or a stray piece of spinach out from between your teeth. Flossing, in addition to making your teeth and gums look and feel better, has several other advantages. Let’s take a closer look at these benefits.

  • It helps to remove plaque – Plaque is a whitish, sticky film that forms around, between, and along the gumline of your teeth. Plaque isn’t something you want to have in your mouth for very long, despite how tough it is to see.

When germs in your mouth come into contact with starchy or sugary meals and drinks, plaque builds on and around your teeth. These bacteria produce acids that aid in the digestion of carbohydrates. If you don’t brush your teeth, bacteria, acids, and carbohydrates can combine to produce a plaque film on and around your teeth and gumline if you don’t brush them.

Plaque bacteria can produce acids that eat away at your tooth enamel. If these acids aren’t removed through brushing and flossing, they can cause cavities over time. To add on, plaque can solidify and harden into tartar, which collects along the gumline. According to the American Dental Association, this increases the risk of gum disease. Flossing regularly can help eliminate food particles from between your teeth as well as plaque buildup.

Lessens the chances of cavities – A cavity is caused by tooth decay and is a small opening or hole in the hard surface of your teeth known as enamel. Although this process takes time, the more plaque on your teeth’s enamel, the more likely you are to develop a cavity.

Flossing between your teeth at least once before brushing can help remove food particles and plaque accumulation from between your teeth, reducing the chances of suffering from tooth decay.

  • Helps to prevent gum problems – The early stage of gum disease is gingivitis. Inflammation around your gums is one of the earliest indicators of gingivitis. When you clean or floss your teeth, your gums may bleed. Flossing helps to remove plaque which in turn reduces the probability of suffering from gum disease.

If gingivitis is ignored, it can progress to periodontitis, a more serious infection. Your gums may recede or peel away from your teeth as a result of this. Your teeth may become loose due to a lack of bone support. Periodontitis, if left untreated, can trigger an inflammatory response throughout your body. Gum disease can be reduced by brushing your teeth twice a day and flossing once a day. Cleanings by your dentist every six months can also help keep your gums in good shape.

  • Resolves the problem of bad breath – Bad breath which is also known as halitosis is a prevalent problem. Flossing, on the other hand, is one of the techniques you can employ to keep bad breath at bay. When food becomes lodged between your teeth, it begins to rot slowly. It is possible to have foul-smelling breaths if you do not remove the food particles. Plaque can also create cavities and gum disease, which contribute to bad breath if it builds up around or between your teeth and begins eroding your tooth enamel.

We hope that you now have a clear idea about the benefits of flossing regularly. If you face any problem while flossing, do consult a dentist for step-by-step instructions of flossing.

Get in touch with our dentists if you have any further questions related to flossing. We also offer excellent oral hygiene treatments in New Lenox. Book your appointment now for a healthy and attractive smile.

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