Do You Floss Before or After Brushing? Does it Matter?

When it comes to taking care of your teeth, everyone knows that brushing at least twice a day is critical to your oral health. However, despite the fact that people are told to floss their teeth as well, few people do so as often as they should. In fact, many people don’t even floss correctly when they do take the time to floss. For example, when exactly are you supposed to floss?

Why Do You Need To Floss?

There are a lot of food particles and bacteria that can get stuck between your teeth and gums that a regular toothbrush is unable to reach. Flossing regularly can help to remove those food particles and that bacteria. In fact, flossing regularly can help to prevent plaque from hardening, thereby preventing gum disease from developing. As a result of preventing gum disease, you’ll be less likely to experience common gum disease issues, such as bad breath, loose teeth, swollen gums, and bleeding gums.

When Should You Floss?

Flossing is just as important as brushing your teeth, yet people don’t seem to do it nearly enough. You should floss your teeth at least once a day. Flossing is best done before one goes to sleep. Getting all the bacteria and plaque off before one falls asleep with have the most benefit; and we also suggest doing it before you brush. This is recommended because when you floss, you’re releasing the plaque, bacteria, and food that was stuck between your teeth and gums. If you do this after you brush, all of that loose plaque, bacteria, and food will just stay in your mouth. Brushing afterwards helps to ensure that everything leaves your mouth. Additionally, the fluoride that’s in your toothpaste will be more effective at protecting your teeth if you’ve flossed all of the food and bacteria out of your teeth first.

Additional Flossing Tips

When flossing, make sure that you use approximately 30 to 45 cm of floss. Move the floss up and down the sides of each tooth by wrapping the ends of the floss around your fingers. When flossing, make sure to do so gently. If you’re too rough, it can cause your gums to bleed. You also want to make sure when you go near the gum line that you let the floss go as deep as it can under the gum and wrapping around each tooth to get all the bacteria off that you cannot visually see.

Schedule a Dental Appointment in Waterloo Today

Flossing is an important part of maintaining your oral health; however, so is scheduling a regular dental checkup. To schedule an appointment don’t hesitate to contact us at Waterloo Smiles family dentistry today.

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