Floss holders are cheap and make it a lot easier to reach the teeth in the back:
Plus you use less floss, and save your fingers.
Wow, I’ve seen the disposable ones, but these look much better. Always liked the form factor, but disposable felt wasteful
My dental hygienist actually explained it to me one time.
It has nothing to do with “toughening up your gums” like I used to think. Food gets trapped, bacteria grows, and your gums become inflamed to combat the bacteria. So now your gums are constantly full of blood protecting you from infection and when you do floss (or someone flosses for you), they’re going to bleed a lot.
I started flossing habitually every night and wouldn’t you know it I’ve only ever bled or felt pain from flossing when I miss some stupid popcorn shell thats wedged itself down low (which also goes to show, you don’t event need to do a particularly good job flossing for it to work 99%)
A bonus tip for folks that don’t like garotting their fingertips every night by wrapping them in 6 loops of floss just to get some tension: tie a short piece into a loop, double knotted, and you just pull the loop tight between two fingers. No finger pain, no extra appliance, and it uses less floss.
Extra bonus tip: get proper butlerweave floss. The plastic ribbon bullshit is absolute nonsense. Like trying to wash dishes with a zip lock bag…
They also don’t really explain growing up that the floss is supposed to go slightly under your gums, between the tooth and gums where brushes don’t get, NOT just getting food from between teeth, but literally under the gum edge.
Another tip is to use interdental brushes, never thought I was able to use them properly until I watched a video about it. Was a pain for the first two weeks and got bleeding gums every time, since then no problems at all, I use them in the morning and evening and floss once a day.
Water flossing for life
This was the thing that got me consistently flossing. I started using the water flosser and after I found normal flossing easier to implement.
When I was a kid mom and I went to a new dentist. I was a kid and didn’t floss like I should, but this guy kept hitting my gums with the picks and tore up the inside of my mouth. When he was finished, he blamed all the blood on my lack of flossing. Thankfully, when we were driving home mom said, “well we won’t be going back there.” Apparently she also was not impressed with that guy.
Edit: spelling. Dentist did not fart in my mouth. That I know of.
I would go back to the dentist either if they were farting in my mouth
I wonder if that’s covered by insurance or if it’s an upcharge
Autocorrect striking a comment making fun of an autocorrect. Poetic.
Ffs I get back from school to find this out. I’ll live up to it: dentist farting in my mouth is such a power move I’d be scared not to go back
farts in your mouth
“Do you have a problem with that, miss?”
“N-no, Mr. Dentist, sir. See you in six months!”
I would be absolutely living if my dentist farted in my mouth! I’d make sure everyone heard about it!
Livid? Is autocorrect just wreaking havoc on this thread?
Exactly, my bad. If the dentist farted in my mouth I’d really be pissed on.
deleted by creator
Does that mean you’re dead the rest of the time?
Ducking autocorrect.
When I started actually taking care of me teeth there was a night and day difference between dental appointments where I’d not flossed much or at all since the last appointment and just flossing maybe weekly. Upgrading to daily further improved the experience. Flossing really makes the entire dental process suck so much less and is totally worth it. Also setting a timer to make sure you actually brush for 2 minutes can also be helpful, since you might not realize you’ve been under-brushing
Also dentists: “That’ll be $1200. I hope you enjoy the rest of your Monday!”
US citizen detected.
It’s getting to be that way in the UK too.
It used to be that everyone could get an NHS dentist and get a lot of work done for free but not anymore. I think that we’re still all entitled to an NHS dentist but there aren’t enough of them so only kids have easy access.
I get a cleaning every 4 months but my insurance only covers every 6 months, so I pay for one out of pocket. I go to a very good dentist, and they only charge $170 for a cleaning
you are supposed to clean your teeth 2 times a day
I do clean my teeth two times a day, and floss regularly. That doesn’t totally stop the plaque from building up though. Everybody’s biology is a bit different
It’s not that hard to floss and brush your own teeth mate, why do you need to get it done by a dentist every 4 months
You have zero plaque when you go to the dentist?
Not enough to pay $170 out of pocket for, whatever my insurance covers is enough, the rest of the time I’ve got a water floos and regular flossing and cleaning to get the job done
That sounds great for you. I switched to 3/year last year after trying everything else to reduce the amount of plaque developing between visits without success. I don’t get why you feel the need to shit on someone for that
Yeah my bad everyone’s bodies are unique
edit: Ok, downvote me for stating healthcare is expensive in the US and wondering if this is linked to the flossing habit…
No, healthcare being expensive and people not flossing are not related.
My weakest gums are weak precisely because I floss there more often.
Those locations happen to be where there’s a natural gap between teeth, they’re the first place food gets stuck and the first place I have to take a toothpick or floss to. Gentle as I am, that still takes a toll on the gum between them.
There’s also been a feedback loop of food getting stuck there making those gaps wider over time, meaning larger food getting stuck and more flossing. Over the course of a few decades, tiny movements add up.
The dentists I’ve seen are clueless what to suggest; suggesting I floss less would make their heads explode.
I’ve heard good things about water picks.
I like mine. Use warm water or it hurts.
That what my dentist recommended for similar problems, along with a fix to a filling there that was causing food to get stuck more than expected.
It sounds like either genetics or user error. I have a permanent retainer and I have to floss hard around those teeth to prevent calculus buildup, and their gum line is the strongest in my mouth.
It’s hard to be sure on the genetics front. There’s evidence to suggest there might be some weaknesses there, but then most of my ancestors and relatives who have had severe problems have all been smokers, and I’m not.
I had a similar situation, then they gave me a cavity filling on one of the teeth and the gap went away. Maybe they can fake a filling to fill the gap? 🤣
Epic comic
