{"id":108,"date":"2017-10-28T06:47:34","date_gmt":"2017-10-28T06:47:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.annigandental.com\/blog\/?p=108"},"modified":"2026-04-03T19:41:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T19:41:36","slug":"dentist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.annigandental.com\/blog\/2017\/10\/dentist\/","title":{"rendered":"Dentist Advises Against These Flossing Habits"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-109\" src=\"https:\/\/www.annigandental.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/AdobeStock_54732373-300x195.jpeg\" alt=\"close-up of attractive smile\" width=\"300\" height=\"195\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.annigandental.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/AdobeStock_54732373-300x195.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.annigandental.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/AdobeStock_54732373-768x500.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.annigandental.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/AdobeStock_54732373.jpeg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Do you floss your teeth regularly? It\u2019s an absolutely crucial aspect of clean, healthy teeth, but let\u2019s be honest &#8212; many people don\u2019t. And when people <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">do<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> clean between their teeth, it turns out they often choose some strange methods. The American Dental Association recently published an article about a new survey that reveals the \u201cunusual flossing habits\u201d of people in our country. Dentists everywhere shudder to think about\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fingernails<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Index cards<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cutlery<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Safety pins (!)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A strand of hair<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8230;being used as a substitute for dental floss. Not only are your teeth and gums in danger when you\u2019re forcing anything between them, but you\u2019re also spreading bacteria and opening yourself up to the risk of infection when you use something like a fingernail to clean your mouth. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This survey is a great reminder to clean between teeth with good old-fashioned dental floss every single day. Doing so will keep your smile cleaner and reduce the chances that you will be tempted to resort to whatever is closest to you when you\u2019re away from home. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Flossing the Right Way<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Patients of all ages should floss between teeth at least once daily, preferably at night before bed. People who have crowded teeth or who are at a higher risk of cavities may benefit from more frequent flossing. It doesn\u2019t really matter if you floss before or after you brush your teeth, as long as you\u2019re doing it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To floss correctly&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use a new piece of floss that\u2019s about 18 inches long. Many people don\u2019t use enough of the stuff to get a thorough clean. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wrap half of each side around your middle or index fingers, leaving a space about one inch wide to floss with. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gently work this bit up, down, and around the base of two teeth. Think of yourself as scrubbing away plaque and bacteria from each angle. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Move to a new area of floss after each tooth to avoid simply redistributing bacteria. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019t forget to clean behind the very last tooth, too. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Create a Flossing Habit<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the most difficult things about flossing is, well, remembering to do it. Developing a positive habit is all about triggering the action, so leave the floss somewhere you\u2019re sure to see it at night, like right beside your toothpaste. Commit to using it before you fall asleep. Alongside routine brushing and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.annigandental.com\/preventive-dentistry.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">six month visits<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to your dentist, flossing with dental floss can help you enjoy a clean, healthy smile for years and years to come. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So the next time you\u2019re tempted to clean between your teeth with a fingernail, twig, or whatever else happens to be nearby &#8212; just don\u2019t. Your dentist says wait until you get home! \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">About the Author<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dr. Henry Hsue is a Bothell, WA general dentist providing comprehensive care for patients of all ages. He stresses the importance of solid oral hygiene &#8212; including thorough flossing &#8212; for everyone. To learn more about Dr. Hsue\u2019s services or if you are searching the web for a high quality \u201cdentist near me,\u201d you are invited to <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.annigandental.com\/contact-us.html\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">contact Annigan Dental<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at 425-549-9671. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do you floss your teeth regularly? It\u2019s an absolutely crucial aspect of clean, healthy teeth, but let\u2019s be honest &#8212; many people don\u2019t. And when people do clean between their teeth, it turns out they often choose some strange methods. The American Dental Association recently published an article about a new survey that reveals the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.annigandental.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.annigandental.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.annigandental.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.annigandental.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.annigandental.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.annigandental.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":453,"href":"https:\/\/www.annigandental.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108\/revisions\/453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.annigandental.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.annigandental.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.annigandental.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}