Oral Health Support: Dental Floss

Even though brushing is highly effective for washing away plaque buildup, your toothbrush bristles cannot clean between your teeth. To reach these areas, you can use dental floss. When it comes to choosing the type of flos you use, you do have options between using a threaded floss or a water flosser, which uses a steady beam of water to remove debris and plaque from between your teeth.

If you do decide to use dental floss, make sure that it is shred-resistant. This is extremely important, as shred-resistant floss can clean between teeth without the risk of fraying or tearing apart. For additional questions about product recommendations, or if you have questions about alternative interdental cleaners, such as water flossers, you can speak with our dentists.

If you do decide to use traditional dental floss, it is important to make sure you are flossing correctly. Ideally, you should use an 18-inch section of floss for each flossing session. This is important, as you will need to wrap each end of the strand around a finger on each hand, and use a new section of floss between each tooth. Flossin gin this way can prove to help clean all areas between the teeth without the risk of recontamination.

If you would like Dr. Kaveen Ranasinghe, and our team at Portland Dental to help you know to floss and enhance your smile, please call us at (503) 221-8123 to schedule an appointment at our dental office in Portland, Oregon.