Dentist Says “Take the F Out of Floss and You Get LOSS”

There have been many rumors over the years that unfortunately encourage people to stop flossing. It’s already a practice that doesn’t get much praise, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not critical to your oral health.

Your dentist in Richardson is here to debunk the myth that flossing isn’t important. Let’s look at what you’re risking when you decide to skip this part of your dental routine.

The Bottom Line: You Still Need to Floss!

When the average person saw headlines from these studies without complete context, they automatically ruled in their minds two things:

• Flossing is unnecessary and doesn’t affect your oral health.
• My dentist has ulterior motives for telling me to floss.

First off, your dentist’s main job is to make sure that your teeth and healthy and secondly to keep your smile aesthetically pleasing and up to your personal standard of beauty. There are no other motives that are involved when recommending flossing to patients. It’s a personal practice that’s highly recommended to keep teeth and gums strong for years to come. In fact, most dentists give away floss simply because they don’t make money from it, they truly believe in the positive aspects of flossing.

Secondly, flossing directly affects your oral health and the strength of your smile’s foundation: your gum health. When you take the time to remove excess bacteria from your teeth and gums, your decreasing your chances of developing dental diseases. In fact, when you choose to floss, you’re cleaning up to 35% more of your teeth than what you would have if you only brushed.

Avoid One of the Biggest Threats to Your Oral Health by Flossing

When you neglect your teeth and gums by avoiding flossing daily, you leave those harmful materials on your teeth. This dental plaque hardens to tartar on your teeth and below the gum line. You’ll eventually develop tooth decay and one of the most debilitating dental diseases: gum disease.

Gum disease can advance into periodontal disease, causing infections throughout your mouth and inflammation. Inflammation can deteriorate your healthy teeth, gums, jawbone, and even your systematic health. Some signs of gum disease include:

• Loose permanent teeth
• Chronic bad breath
• Bleeding gums
• Inflamed gums
• Receding gums

When you hear of all these symptoms, of course you wouldn’t want to develop gum disease. But you just hate flossing. Don’t worry, remember your dentist is on your team.

Your Dentist Can Help Make Flossing Easier

If you absolutely don’t like to floss, that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t need to be done. You can ask your dentist about the best way to go about flossing in a different way. There are many tools out on the market that can help you optimize your oral health. These include water flossers, dental picks, and pre-threaded dental flossers that make it easy to floss even when you’re on-the-go!

So after all the confusion, the message still remains the same: Brush, FLOSS, and visit your dentist for regular cleanings to keep your smile strong.

About Our Office

Dr. Tom McDougal and Dr. Chris Richards work with a friendly team of experts that are known for their gentle caring touch when it comes to providing excellent service to our patients. If you ever have a question about how you should be caring for your smile, the best thing you can do is reach out to our dental office to speak to one of our team members.