Why Should I Floss My Teeth?

The most popular question I get asked is,”Why should I floss my teeth?”

I would like to reply with, “so that your breath does not smell and you do not build up all that tartar on and in between your teeth!” However, most patients need that explained…

Bacteria, good or bad, is always in our oral cavity. It is part of the composition of our saliva and for the most part the good bacteria is there to protect and nourish our tissues from foreign substances. The bad bacteria, that gets mixed up with plaque and food debris hangs out in the oral cavity and invades the tissues including the inner cheeks and lips, gums, tongue, and teeth. Over time, the longer the bad bacteria along with the debris stays on our oral tissues, the more harmful. This bacteria causes bad breath in the oral cavity and is proven to be bone-eating bacteria. This sounds scary because in fact it is! The bacteria begins to eat away at the bone level which is biologically and anatomically designed to anchor our teeth in place. Imagine not having a stable foundation for the walls of your home. The bone is there to support our teeth and with the gums and ligaments surrounding them they are there to sustain the powerful forces of mastication. If the support is not present, then the obvious begins to happen, tooth mobility. As the bone level recedes, the teeth become loose, and fall out! This is referred to in the dental practice as periodontal disease.

Flossing requires one to glide the floss along the wall of the tooth structure in a back and forth motion until reaching the gums on the bottom. But, the job is not done at that point. Next, the floss should be curved in a C-shape, hugging the curvature of the tooth. Then in a “scooping” motion one must dig under the gums to properly dislodge bacteria, along with debris that may be present under the gums. And, this process is repeated for every tooth in the mouth. At first bleeding occurs and many patients find themselves discouraged since they think they are doing something wrong. More often than none I hear a patient saying, “I stopped flossing because I was bleeding!” On the contrary, the bacteria is coming out in the blood. The more the gum is stimulated by the motion of flossing, the more bacteria will be released. As the bacteria is gone, the gum tissues now will have an opportunity to hug the teeth tight with out the bacteria in the way, yielding healthier gums. This process must be repeated daily to maintain healthy tissues.

Written by: Maya Oshins RDH