• H&R Moderators: VerbalTruist

How important is flossing?

derg

Bluelighter
Joined
Aug 8, 2006
Messages
60
I almost never floss, but I have near perfect teeth. Does it really do much to prevent cavities/gingivitis?
 
Judging by the responses, I guess it's not very important.

Do you floss?
 
From what I've been told, flossing is extremely important. I try to floss at least once a day but I'd say I do it about 4 or 5 times in a 7 day week. I also have near-perfect teeth and have never had a cavity or any type of bacterial issue dealing with the cleanliness of my mouth. I have noticed that after routinely flossing your teeth, your mouth has a more overall clean feeling.
 
I never used to floss, but I didn't really have any cavities either, but when I would go to the dentist and they would clean my teeth, they would BLEED! My gums would always be sore.

Flossing helps your gums a lot.

My teeth are pretty close together though, so once something gets in there, it doesn't come out until I floss.

Maybe derg's teeth are gappy.
 
Flossing is extremeley important. I floss every night with dental tape.

Flossing helps clean teeth in the areas that brushing alone just cannot reach (between the teeth and under your gum line). 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.

I actually used to have the beginnings of gingivitis until I started flossing.
 
If you are a drug user and smoke (meth, cigs, etc) than I cannot stress how important flossing/regular brushing/disinfectant gargling is after EACH incident of smoking (meth, possibly weed, etc.). Having had 3 root canals and several cavity fillings, I know what I'm talkin about.
 
I floss everyday out of habit. I think it really depends on what you eat and how healthy your teeth are to begin with. Some people I know don't floss at all and have shiny and perfect whites, while some have plaque-ish things accumulating in the crevices that are hardened.

I can't not floss because I got a cavity once between my two front teeth and it freaked me out. It's true about the drugs too. This was when I was doing them, and I'd never gotten a cavity in that weird a location... (yeah right, blame it on the drugs) =D
 
I think it's extremely important for overall health to floss. You could have good teeth but as you get older, it's even more important to look after your gums. I think receding gums look terrible and are, to my mind, one of the most obvious signs of aging that I observe in others.

From what I understand, if your gums are healthy you have more protection from developing heart disease. It also helps protect you from bad breath.
 
OK you've convinced me. I tried it today, for the first time in years. Boy, it's hard to get at those back teeth. This is going to take some practice.
 
It has to do with what your teeth are like, if you have gaps between them you should floss. My teeth are tight I cant even floss, the thread gets wedged inbetween. Dentist said it was ok if I didnt floss cos the food cant get there in the first place
 
I understand that flossing is actually more important than brushing. The reason is that while brushing cleans food and sugar from off the surfaces of your teeth, flossing actually removes it from the tiny spaces between, which is where cavities start (and get worse).

If you think about it, your saliva can pretty much keep the surfaces of your teeth clean, and then flossing takes care of the in-between.

The first time I actually started flossing was after I quit smoking. Let me tell you, the experience of smelling the bacterial stench from a little chunk of "stuff" that came from between my teeth was more than enough to make flossing a daily habit for me. Because I quit smoking, I could really smell it...it smelled like bad breath concentrated 10 times.

The best way is to get the little plastic flossers. They make it so easy. You just grab one in the morning and then floss on your way to wherever. It's only like 5 bucks for 100.

But you have to make sure to get the nice ones. I think they are called "Silk." Don't get the cheap ones, they don't work as well and the thread breaks.
 
I would rather floss than brush if given one option.
I like seeing all the gross crud than brushing has left behind.

I floss twice a day with Glide tape. I think I started flossing regularly 5 years ago. I got tired of hearing the dentist harping on me AND it reduces the amount of time he spent scaling my teeth of plaque. That bloody hurts!

I have never had a cavity. I haven't seen a dentist in almost 2 years :(
 
Flossing is quite important for most for good mouth health...but I have larger than normal gaps in my teeth so its even more important. Huge chunks of whatever ive eaten recently always come out.
If i dont floss bad things happen. But then again...even if i do floss and all the rest they happen. Two crowns, three root canals, countless fillings...and my jaw is swollen as fuck right now...yeah...=[
 
i doubt that flossing is more important than brushing, toothpase has fluoride which reenforces the teeth and even fills small cavities.
 
I'm pretty sure the little proxy brushes that companies like Oral-b put out do an even more efficient job than regular flosses.
 
Top