When you’re focused on replacing teeth with dental implants or coming in for oral surgery, you may find that you’re not quite as concerned with the general details of your oral health care. However, as the dust settles and you are ecstatic with your complete and healthy smile, life will return to its usual day-to-day routine. This routine, of course, should include twice daily dental hygiene sessions. However, if you happen to loathe flossing, these sessions may only include brushing. The bad news here is that your newly restored smile is not going to fare so well if you skip the flossing portion of your daily care. The good news is that we have just the suggestions to cure you of this dislike, so you can enjoy flossing and protect your healthy grin.
Make Sure You’re Doing It Right
If you aren’t doing it right, you will find that your dental hygiene is not very rewarding. You may then rationalize the idea that flossing is just a waste of time when, in fact, it can actually help protect you from dental implant failure! Here’s what you need to do:
- Start off without around 18 inches of floss
- Don’t wrap the floss around your index fingers; instead, wrap it around your middle fingers
- Slip the floss between your teeth by using your pointers and thumbs to do the guiding
- Bend the floss against the side of a tooth, drag it from beneath your gumline upward; repeat along the side of each tooth
Try Something New
Now that you know how to floss for effective dental hygiene, let’s talk floss: Do you like your floss? If not, this could be the problem. Protect your dental implants, teeth, and gums by choosing something you enjoy! Try a new flavor or texture. Or, if you simply detest floss, go ahead and try a water flosser for a completely different (yet effective) experience.
