Most people brush their teeth diligently, taking care to brush both after breakfast and before bed. Unfortunately, though, flossing is often another story. After a long day, it’s all too easy to simply skip the step of flossing your teeth – but that can have serious consequences. As your dedicated Burien dentist, our mission is to help keep your teeth and smile as clean, healthy, and strong as possible, so we’d like to take this opportunity to explain why flossing matters so much to oral health.
The Importance of Flossing Your Teeth
We all know we’re supposed to floss. But why is flossing so important, anyways? The answer, as we’ll see, is two-fold.
First of all, the combination of brushing and flossing is the only way to fully clean the teeth at home. Brushing is great for removing plaque and bacteria from the exposed tooth surface, but a toothbrush misses the spaces between the teeth – about 30% of tooth surface overall. Flossing scrapes away food, plaque, and bacteria from these hidden tooth surfaces, helping to fully clean the teeth and prevent cavities from forming between the teeth.
But that’s not the full story. Flossing is also vital for the health of the gums. The act of flossing stimulates the gums, promoting blood flow to the critical upper section of the gums. This increased blood flow brings more oxygen, helping to bolster the gum tissue’s natural immune response, while also carrying away waste, toxins, and bacteria. In this way, flossing also helps prevent gingivitis and gum disease, which is vital to oral health.
Contact Your Burien Family Dentist
On their own, both brushing and flossing are insufficient to fully protect the smile – but together, they form a comprehensive routine to prevent cavities and dental decay. Remember, though, at-home oral hygiene is only one part of caring for your smile, and regular visits to our office for dental exams and teeth cleanings are just as important. Feel free to contact us if you have more questions about your oral health or if you’d like to schedule your next dental check-up. We can’t wait to hear from you, and we wish you luck in protecting your smile with daily brushing and flossing!
