Flossing

Flossing

Taking a few extra minutes to add flossing to your daily oral hygiene routine may not only save your teeth, but may even save your life. Flossing helps clean teeth in the areas between the teeth and under your gum line that brushing alone just cannot reach. Flossing and then brushing helps remove plaque, a sticky substance that accumulates and hardens over time. Left untreated, plaque deposits can eventually lead to gum disease and tooth decay.

Oral hygiene and general health are strongly connected. Recent studies have shown that neglecting your dental care may also be damaging your heart, increasing your risk for stroke, making it harder to control diabetes, contributing to low birth weight babies and now possible links to pancreatic cancer.

Bacterial plaque left underneath the gum line causes the gums to become infected a condition called periodontal disease. By moving underneath the gum line, the bacteria have an easy passage into the bloodstream, where they can cause inflammation of blood vessels, encouraging heart disease. More simply put poor dental hygiene leads to inflamed gums, which is basically giving dangerous bacteria and open door to enter your body.

Learning the proper way to floss your teeth is important. Your hygienist at Family Dental Practice will be happy to demonstrate proper flossing techniques.