How’s your flossing going? As you know, it’s an essential part of your daily preventive care habits at home. What’s that you say? You don’t floss on a daily basis? Or, is it that you do floss but you don’t think you’re doing a very good job? Whatever the case, we find that patients often skip over this important dental hygiene practice because they are not sure how to approach it, while enjoying successful results. Fortunately, you have come to the right place! We have some helpful tips for you to consider.

Tip #1: Use Lots Of Floss

We don’t mean use a few inches of floss. We mean tear off an 18-inch strand of floss before you even begin – this will see you all the way through your flossing session.

Tip #2: Wrap The Floss Correctly

If you’re wrapping the floss around your index fingers, you’re already doing yourself a disservice. Enjoy this part of your preventive care practice more by first delicately winding the floss around your middle fingers a few times. Then, rely on your thumbs and index fingers as your dental floss navigators, moving it between teeth.

Tip #3: Bend That Floss

Your preventive care will not yield the results you want (a healthy smile) if you don’t bend your floss while you move throughout your mouth to remove plaque and food. Here’s what you need to do: You need to slide the floss between two teeth until the floss is positioned just beneath your gum tissue. Now, bend the floss to the side gently so it hugs the side of your tooth. Next, bring the floss up and then down, applying gentle pressure to the tooth. Perform this motion against the neighboring tooth. Continue on this way to clean the rest of your smile.