Health Benefits of Flossing Your Teeth

Pomegranates can also contribute in getting rid of dental bacteria as these fruits impair the ability of bacteria to stick to the surface of the teeth. So, apart from brushing, swishing, and flossing teeth, make sure to have pomegranates regularly.

If you thought meticulous brushing everyday was enough to maintain dental health, then it's high time that you got your facts checked. When talking about good dental hygiene, it would be ridiculous not to mention flossing. The practice of flossing is just as important as brushing to keep your teeth healthy.

Just a few minutes of flossing after every meal will ensure optimal dental health for a lifetime. It will certainly help reduce the number of dental visits, in turn allowing you to save money on expensive dental care.

Flossing is as important as cleaning the tongue after brushing. The American Dental Association (ADA) suggests that flossing prior to brushing can be helpful to improve dental hygiene. The benefits of flossing are much more than enjoying excellent dental health. Flossing can also play a critical role in maintaining general health.

The brush is simply ineffective in cleaning every nook and corner of your teeth. These food particles that are stuck become breeding grounds for bacteria, eventually causing tooth decay and formation of cavities. All this can be easily avoided by flossing daily.

Flossing reaches those areas of teeth that cannot be accessed with regular brushing. So, when you floss daily, the tiny food particles will never accumulate in the oral cavity, thereby keeping your pearly whites intact.

However, this can never happen if flossing is an integral part of daily dental care. The tiny food particles that are left in the mouth, often get collected along the gumline, the point of contact between the teeth and the gums.

This leftover debris forms a sticky, colorless residue on the gumline, commonly referred to as dental plaque. When left unchecked, plaque hardens to form a stone-like material, known as tartar. If left untreated, this hardened plaque, that is usually black in color, can damage the gums.

The good news is that plaque (before it turns tartar) can always be removed by flossing. Daily flossing can help prevent buildup of plaque, thereby protecting gum health.

The stinky breath emanating from the mouth is due to the secretion of foul-smelling sulfur compounds by dental bacteria. Daily flossing can play a major role in stopping bacteria from forming in those tricky places, in turn helping improve bad breath.

Yellowish discoloration of teeth (stained smile) is common in people who ignore flossing. Absence of flossing is often accompanied by buildup of plaque. This dental plaque, that is a pale, yellowish film, not only accumulates in between teeth, but also on the surface of teeth.

Thus, plaque formation robs your teeth of their whiteness. So, if you are serious about maintaining the natural sparkling shine of your teeth, it is essential that you floss daily.

Small research shows that people with gum diseases carry a greater risk of developing diseases related to the heart and the lungs. As flossing plays a key role in preventing gum diseases, it seems you have just another reason to floss daily.

The medical fraternity have come up with several hypotheses to explain the link between gum diseases and increased risk of heart diseases. Pathogens that trigger gum diseases in the oral activity pass down and reach the heart, which eventually gets infected.

Another hypothesis is that the bacteria from the mouth spread beyond the infected site and enter the bloodstream. The bacteria circulating in the bloodstream can also contribute in the development of clogged arteries, leading to heart problems.

There are also speculations that bacteria residing in the mouth may trickle down and affect the respiratory system. So, people affected with gum diseases may suffer from lung infections. Although there is no scientific evidence to back up these theories, they do sound sensible, making us aware of a plausible benefit of flossing daily.

Be it breakfast, lunch, dinner or an evening snack, you need to floss after every meal. However, if you find this advice difficult to incorporate in your busy lifestyle, flossing at least once, just before retiring to bed can also assist in keeping your oral health optimal.

For optimal cleaning, you need to know the correct way of flossing your teeth. Flossing teeth hurriedly can actually damage the gums and cause bleeding. Flossing incorrectly can actually defeat the purpose of starting to floss daily.

Also, flossing too much can also cause bleeding. So, consult a dentist or someone who has been flossing for quite some time, before you incorporate it into your oral care routine.

Brushing twice daily and flossing at least once a day is essential, but that does not mean you should forget to practice basic oral hygiene such as swishing the mouth thoroughly after every meal, especially after having sweets.

So, whenever you eat something, make it a point to rinse your mouth in order to keep your oral health at its best.