Every dental appointment comes with a cleaning and advice from your dentist. The flossing tips from a dentist are one of the most common pieces of advice given. But here’s the truth about flossing: You only need to floss the ones you want to keep.
The truth: flossing matters
All jokes aside, flossing is important. It’s not just something we dentists say. Why is it important to floss every. single. day? Simple! Let me break it down for you:
Brushing your teeth mechanically removes a plaque biofilm from your teeth’s larger, most exposed surfaces. In turn, flossing mechanically removes the same biofilm in-between and inside your gum crevices where a toothbrush naturally may not reach.
Plaque is a biofilm and, ultimately, shooting water at it with something like a dental waterpik won’t do much to remove said plaque from your tooth’s surface.
That said, a waterpik is a great adjunct to remove food debris from your teeth if you have braces or in addition to flossing. So, for those of you who do both, listen closely and you may even hear my applause! Keep it up!
Smile,
Justin Russo, DDS
Russo DDS Raleigh
Wake County’s Top Rated I Award Winning General & Cosmetic Dentist
Voted BEST DENTIST by WRAL, Midtown Magazine and INDYWeek
Voted BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE by Midtown Magazine
