Question from a born-again flosser

[Anonymous]

So admittedly, I have never been a good flosser. Like, at all. But now I am trying to take better care of my teeth and get on the ball with this. Here are my embarrassing questions I cannot ask friends:

1) Do you floss both at night and in the morning?
2) Is it more important to work on the tops or bottoms (where I assume most of the crud lies)
3) How much time does it take you to do all the teeth?

TIA.

[Anonymous]

Boring

The real question is: how do you keep the food particles from flying off your teeth and onto the mirror.

[Anonymous]

I only do it at night. Tops and bottoms seem equally important . Two minutes? Maybe a little less?

[Anonymous]

I've become a dedicated flosser as I've gotten older, and known people with extensive and expensive teeth problems.

I floss in the morning, before I brush, every day and most evenings.

I don't think tops v. bottoms is more important - molars are probably more important that front teeth, since there can be more adjoining and more space for food to remain and cause cavities.

20 seconds?

[Anonymous]

1. At night
2. I think they are equally important, but one focus area would be between molars
3. Less than 5 minutes

[Anonymous]

Flossing is only partly about the crud. A lot of it is about stimulating the gums and preventing gum disease. So top and bottom and make sure you do the "u" from one tooth to another.
Floss after brushing. There will be a lot less food particles flying around.

[Anonymous]

1. Night only - but if I eat something like a really tough steak during the day, I'll floss afterwards rather than go after all the particles with a toothpick.

2. I do top to bottom to top. I don't place a different value on one portion.

3. Maybe a minute? I;ve been flossing long enough to be able to do it very quickly while also being thorough.

[Anonymous]

Op I was also a bad flosser for many years, although I did it, I just did a bad job. I'm very embarrassed to say that I learned how to do it better (after some gum decay, ugh) watching a video that was on in the waiting room at my dentists office. The video was of an orangutan learning how to floss. So apparently, anyone can do it well . The goal is to make a "c" with the floss and scrape up and down the side of each tooth. So between each tooth, you do it first to the left and then to the right, if that makes sense. You have to do every tooth including the end wisdom tooth- there's no "between" there, but you still have to scrape the tooth. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op I was also a bad flosser for many years, although I did it, I just did a bad job. I'm very embarrassed to say that I learned how to do it better (after some gum decay, ugh) watching a video that was on in the waiting room at my dentists office. The video was of an orangutan learning how to floss. So apparently, anyone can do it well . The goal is to make a "c" with the floss and scrape up and down the side of each tooth. So between each tooth, you do it first to the left and then to the right, if that makes sense. You have to do every tooth including the end wisdom tooth- there's no "between" there, but you still have to scrape the tooth. Good luck.

I need to see this!

[Anonymous]

NP here: What is the most pain-free way to floss? Something electronic, regular floss, those disposable flossers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So admittedly, I have never been a good flosser. Like, at all. But now I am trying to take better care of my teeth and get on the ball with this. Here are my embarrassing questions I cannot ask friends:

1) Do you floss both at night and in the morning?
2) Is it more important to work on the tops or bottoms (where I assume most of the crud lies)
3) How much time does it take you to do all the teeth?

TIA.

OP make sure you get the backs of your very last/back teeth. a lot of crap hangs out back there

I floss at night, then alcohol-free wash mouth, then put in my night guard.

Like one of the others PP said, I have become more vigilant as I get older and see my friends teeth falling apart. It scares the hell out of me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here: What is the most pain-free way to floss? Something electronic, regular floss, those disposable flossers?

My favorite is the Glide Pro Health floss; it's very gentle in tight spaces. http://www.amazon.com/Oral-B-Glide-Pro-Health-Dental-Floss/dp/B00UH8WNIW/ref=pd_sim_194_2/180-2838224-7411231?ie=UTF8&dpID=51-6Ik4TGrL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR105%2C160_&refRID=19X2MMRJ87W4MC45MNF4

My dentist also suggested these, and although they creeped me out at first, I've grown to like how they dig out even more crap after flossing. http://www.amazon.com/Dentek-Brush-Interdental-Cleaners-Count/dp/B00CD2922A/ref=sr_1_1?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1452186546&sr=1-1&keywords=dentek

[Anonymous]

Ask a dental hygienist how to correctly floss. As others have stated, you don't simply go up and down. You have to really follow the tooth up through the gum and down the other tooth.

Good luck. Your life will change.

[Anonymous]

OP here. This is all very helpful - and yes, the mirror is an issue.

I still have my wisdom teeth so flossing back there around the last teeth is really hard. Will try to do a better job. And thanks for the tip about stimulating the gums. I didn't know that!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here: What is the most pain-free way to floss? Something electronic, regular floss, those disposable flossers?

Pain as in annoying or pain as in painful? The more you floss the less actual pain there will be.