Seven Reasons That Will Make You Want to Floss
Do you think you have good oral hygiene because you brush your teeth twice a day? Think again!
According to statistics from the Love Your Mouth campaign in the UK, just 21% of the 10,000 adults who were surveyed said they floss their teeth daily, citing tiredness or just plain laziness as a reason for skipping the floss.
Bud did you know that not flossing could be causing serious harm – not only to your teeth and gums, but to your health too?
1) Flossing helps to prevent gum diseases
Flossing is critical to an effective dental hygiene routine at home. Nothing can clean in between the teeth like floss, and without it you are leaving your mouth prone to gum disease.
2) Flossing helps prevent tooth decay
Tooth decay can have very serious consequences including pain, infection, and tooth loss. If let unchecked, it can even be fatal.
Preventing tooth decay is easy with regular dental check-ups at cleaning, and solid at-home dental hygiene protocol including regular brushing and flossing. One-third of your tooth structure is in between the teeth – so if you aren’t flossing, that area isn’t being cleaned. Also, when decay starts in between the teeth, it usually causes two cavities, one on each tooth.
By regularly removing food and bacteria from in between the teeth, you’re preventing that decay form starting in those areas.
3) Flossing can reduce the risk of heart disease
An important thing to remember is that your mouth is connected to your body – it isn’t a separate thing. Research right now is focusing on the effects of gum
disease on heart disease, diabetes, and even pregnant mothers.
Flossing can reduce the amount of bacteria in the mouth that can enter the blood stream. This can trigger inflammation in the arteries, which can increase the risk of heart disease.
4) Flossing can make your smile look better and your teeth whiter
Unhealthy gums are red and swollen. As it progresses, the gum starts to recede from the tooth and can expose the roots, which are more yellow.
So unhealthy gums are very easy to see and can make your smile more yellow by exposing root areas. Flossing can prevent staining in the area in between the teeth.
5) Flossing improves the health of your gums
Flossing is like exercising, if you do so on a regular basis, your body is used to it and doesn’t get extremely sore from a workout.
When you floss daily, the gums get used to the sensation and are kept clean. If you don’t floss daily, when you do floss or have a cleaning, the gums will be sore and bleed easily because they aren’t used to it.
6) Flossing can save you money
Flossing can prevent tartar from building up between the teeth. Tartar can only be removed by your dentist. Save money, and more importantly time, by reducing checkups with regular flossing!
7) Flossing can prevent bad breath
The most common cause of bad breath is poor oral hygiene – and flossing is essential in the battle against bad breath. Brushing without flossing is comparable to cleaning only 65% of the body, leaving 35% untouched and prime for bacterial growth, which causes bad breath.
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