Flossing

3 Simple Steps to Master Flossing

September 21st, 2017

Brushing alone only covers about 1/3 of the total tooth surface area in your mouth, which leaves a lot of space for plaque – and cavities – to thrive. Flossing removes plaque buildup in the places where toothbrushes can’t reach – between teeth. But, more than 50% of American don’t floss daily, and that’s a problem. Flossing is simple, and will help your entire family. To better care for our patients, we’ve decided to write 3 simple steps that will help you master flossing. 

3 Steps to Master Flossing

1 - Floss Once Every Day

The best way to become a master flosser is to floss daily. Repetition is the key to mastering anything, but also fully cleaning your teeth. A full flossing routine should include cleaning teeth below the gum line, where dental plaque can go unseen and unreached by toothbrushes. If left untreated, plaque buildup near the root of teeth can lead to gingivitis and tooth loss. Bleeding gums when brushing or flossing are often an early sign of gum disease. People who regularly brush and floss their teeth suffer from gum disease and tooth decay far less than those that do not.

2 - Slow Down

If you move quickly from tooth to tooth, then you risk not fully cleaning the tartar buildup on your teeth. Remember: flossing cleans debris from between your teeth, but also helps remove a thin, damaging layer of plaque that can lead to cavities. We suggest spending about 10 seconds flossing each side of your teeth. 

3 - Floss the Whole Tooth

A lot of people only floss one side of each of their teeth – focusing on the gaps between teeth as singular spaces to be cleaned. Again, flossing fights plaque buildup on teeth, so focus on flossing each side of your tooth below the gum line.

How to Floss Children’s Teeth

Here’s a basic guide to flossing your children’s teeth:
1. Begin flossing your children’s teeth when any two teeth touch.
2. Use about 12-18 inches of dental floss. If that is too difficult, try using flossing tools like soft flossing picks.
3. Use wide, flat dental tape to floss your children’s teeth. The width of the floss helps with the larger spaces in children’s teeth.
4. Be gentle when flossing children’s teeth, and avoid applying too much pressure on their gums.
5. Floss both sides of the teeth, and make sure to gently dip beneath the gum lime.

Visit Our Office

Did you know that cavities are the largest disease affecting children? Don’t let that discourage you: flossing is almost entirely preventable. Visit our office so that we can help your child fight cavities, and provide them with an oral health plan that will give them a healthy smile for years to come. 

Common Flossing Mistakes

May 25th, 2017

Flossing is an important part of getting a healthy smile and keeping cavities and gum disease away. Yet, it is entirely possible to floss the wrong way – and damage your teeth in the process. Below, we cover why flossing is important, and a few common flossing mistakes.  

Brushing Only Does So Much

Flossing removes plaque buildup in the places where toothbrushes can’t reach – between teeth. Brushing alone only covers about 1/3 of the total tooth surface area in your mouth, which leaves a lot of space for plaque – and cavities – to thrive. Flossing helps fix this by removing food and other debris in between your teeth that causes plaque accumulation. Plaque accumulation leads to oral disease and cavities. Flossing helps completely clean your mouth so that you avoid oral disease.  

4 Common Flossing Mistakes 

1 - Flossing Too Often

If you floss too often, you risk damaging your gum tissue and prolonging gum sensitivity. To clean properly without hurting your gums, floss once per day, right after brushing. We suggest flossing right before bed, since it provides ample time for flossing.  

2 - Moving Too Quickly

If you move quickly from tooth to tooth, then you risk not fully cleaning the tartar buildup on your teeth. Remember: flossing cleans debris from between your teeth, but also helps remove a thin, damaging layer of plaque that can lead to cavities. We suggest spending about 10 seconds flossing each side of your teeth.   

3 - Missing Both Sides of the Tooth

A lot of people only floss one side of each of their teeth – focusing on the gaps between teeth as singular spaces to be cleaned. Again, flossing fights plaque buildup on teeth, so focus on flossing each side of your tooth below the gum line.  

4 - Quitting at the Sign of Bleeding Gums

If you haven’t flossed in a while, you may bleed a bit when you begin flossing again, and many people stop flossing at the sight of blood. Bleeding gums often indicates oral disease, which is caused by plaque and bacteria buildup – exactly what flossing helps to prevent! In order to fight oral disease, you actually need to stick to flossing. Eventually, your gums will become less swollen and no longer bleed.  

Flossing Helps Prevent Gum Disease

A full flossing routine should include cleaning teeth below the gum line, where dental plaque can go unseen and unreached by toothbrushes. If left untreated, plaque buildup near the root of teeth can lead to gingivitis and tooth loss. Bleeding gums when brushing or flossing are often an early sign of gum disease. People who regularly brush and floss their teeth suffer from gum disease and tooth decay far less than those that do not.  

If your child has tender, swollen gums that bleed when they brush or floss, then it’s time to schedule an appointment and evaluate their oral health. Gum disease is very treatable and can be prevented by regular brushing and flossing. Call our office to schedule an appointment today.

Charlotte Children’s Dentist Offers Flossing Tips for Kids

September 8th, 2016

If you counted all things that you make your kids do—for their own good!—you’d be busy all day. And you’re busy enough. So, Charlotte children’s dentist Dr. Mujica at All Kids Pediatric Dentistry would like to help you convince your kids to floss. Here are five tips that will make any kid a flossing fan!

Give ‘Em a Gold Star

You have a chart for when they clean their rooms and when they finish their homework, so why not a chart for when they floss, too? You can draw a chart together with your child, or there are many options online that you can download. To track the days they floss, let your son or daughter affix a sticker. You decide how many days in row they need to floss in order to receive a reward—maybe a later bedtime one night on the weekend.

Let’s Do the Floss!

Make flossing a fun activity for children. Find a song they like and let your kids floss to the music. Something with a slow and steady beat works best so they don’t get too aggressive with flossing, which can hurt delicate gum tissue.

Flossing and Math

Most people don’t think to put flossing and math together, but this is a great opportunity to help young children learn how to count. You little one has 20 teeth in his or her mouth. While you floss for them or when they attempt to do it themselves, the two of you can count teeth as you progress from one to the next.

Once Upon a Time…

Use your imagination to create a magical story about those naughty bacteria that try to hurt your child’s teeth and the hero that comes to the rescue. Floss! While you capture their attention, the time it takes to floss will go by more quickly.

Make Flossing Easy

Sometimes a long string of floss can be difficult for little hands to manage. Instead, buy a package of floss sticks, which are available in many colors. They’re small and have a short piece of floss anchored between two plastic tips. Have your child use one for their upper teeth and one for the lower.

Good Job!

Every time you child flosses, be sure to pile on the praise. With your approval and encouragement, good oral hygiene that includes flossing will become a lifelong habit.

Contact Our Office Today

For more advice on you can help your children enjoy healthy and beautiful smiles, call All Kids Pediatric Dentistry today.

Charlotte Children’s Dentist Offers Tips for Brushing and Flossing

March 4th, 2016

As mommy or daddy, you teach your children so many life skills: how to hold a fork and knife, how to get dressed, how to tie their shoes, how to ride a bike, how to shower… Trust us, the list never ends. (Driving lessons anyone?) So it should come as no surprise that it’s also your responsibility to teach your children how to properly brush and floss their teeth. Just like everything else, there is a right way to perform these important hygiene tasks, too. Charlotte children’s dentist Dr. Marcela Mujica has a few tips to help you show your kids how best to brush and floss.

  1. Monkey see, monkey do. No doubt you’ve heard that expression before and noticed that it really does work. Kids imitate what they see, so let your children see you brush and floss your teeth. What’s habitual for you will become a healthy habit for them, too.
  2. Brushing for beginners. Up until the age of about six years old, your children need you to brush and floss for them. After that, they’re probably ready, so make sure they have a toothbrush with soft bristles that is the right size for smaller hands and toothpaste with fluoride.
  3. It’s all about that angle. Kids have a tendency to press the brush directly against their teeth at a 90-degree angle. However, they should tip the brush to a 45-degree angle in order to brush the surfaces of their teeth as well as along the gum line.
  4. Brush 2 minutes 2 times a day. That means that kids (and adults) should brush their teeth for at least two minutes two times a day. You can even purchase a toothbrush for your child that plays a happy tune for two minutes. When the music stops, they’ve brushed long enough.
  5. Flossing is important because it removes particles of food trapped between teeth as well as plaque. Tear off about 18 inches of floss. Then, show your son or daughter how to gently guide the floss between teeth, and how to move the floss up and down and press the floss firmly against each tooth.
  6. Advance the floss. Adults can wind most of the floss around their middle fingers in order to take up each used section of floss. For kids, however, this usually requires more manual dexterity than they have. So, show them how to start at one end of the floss and move it from one hand to the other, so they floss with a fresh section each time.

Contact Your Charlotte Children’s Dentist Today

Our team can also help your children learn how to brush and floss, too. Call All Kids Pediatric Dentistry, the dentist Charlotte parents trust for their children, to schedule a dental checkup.