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Are You One of the Many Americans Who Never Floss?

6 July 2022 by Harold Coleman

Do you floss your teeth? For most Americans, this question might be a little ridiculous, since to them, not cleaning in between their teeth is unthinkable. But this isn't the case for everyone. It's estimated that some 32% of Americans never floss. Nobody is trying to shame you, but cleaning between your teeth is a critical part of your dental care. It's really important to think about why you don't floss, which can help you to determine the best way for you to clean the spaces between your teeth. 

Interdental Cleaning

Firstly, flossing can be a misleading term. It suggests that you're using actually string-like dental floss to clean your interdental areas (which is the formal name for those spaces between your teeth). But the word flossing has become interchangeable with interdental cleaning, even though no actual floss might be involved in cleaning between your teeth.

Dental Floss

It could be that dental floss itself is responsible for your lack of interdental cleaning. You might find it difficult to handle, resulting in an awkward, uneven approach that strongly irritates your gums. Your previous efforts with dental floss may have even caused regular lacerations to your gums. After a brief period of trying your best with dental floss, your underwhelming results and the irritation you experience while flossing could easily have caused you to give up.

Dental Tape

You definitely gave up too early. There are several alternatives to dental floss, and it might be best to try a few to learn which method is most comfortable for you, while still efficiently cleaning your interdental areas. You might want to start with dental tape. The principle is practically identical to dental floss, but instead of being string-like, the tape has more width, giving it softer edges—which means your gums are less likely to be irritated.

Interdental Brushes

An interdental brush doesn't much resemble a toothbrush. They're made up of a small, single tuft brush head, attached to a small plastic square that you can grip between your thumb and forefinger. If dental floss feels too clumsy, you'll have more precision with an interdental brush. 

Water and Air

You don't technically need to make direct contact with your teeth to clean your interdental areas. Automatic flossing devices using either a jet or water or air offer intensive cleaning with a minimum of effort. Water flossing can provide better results since the weight of the water can be more effective in removing firmly-lodged food particles from between your teeth. Although the results can speak for themselves, these devices cost more than other, manual options.

Making an effort to clean your interdental areas will vastly improve your overall dental health, meaning your dentist will stop having to remind you about the importance of cleaning between your teeth.

For more information, contact a dental clinic in your area such as Chinook Family Dentistry.

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