How to Use Dental Floss
Using dental floss seems simple enough, yet many people do not understand how to effectively perform this task. Flossing your teeth is only effective if it is done correctly. It is important to learn the correct way to use dental floss in order to ensure the maximum amount of plaque removal.
- Wash your hands well using a antibacterial soap. Dirty hands should never enter your mouth.
- Tear off a piece of floss that is sixteen to eighteen inches in length. This should be enough floss to complete one full cleaning session.
- Wrap the majority of the floss around the middle finger of your dominant hand and a small amount around the middle finger of your other hand. This allows you to control the floss with your index finger.
- Slide the floss in between two teeth. Be careful not to use too much force, or pull the floss upward too quickly, as the floss could cut your gums. Once the floss has reached the top area of the tooth next to the gum line, bend the floss so that it is in a semi-circle around the tooth.
- Use a back and forth motion to work the floss from top to bottom, cover all of the areas between the teeth. Before moving on, spend some time covering the area of the back of the tooth as well. Once an area is complete, roll a new area of floss off the hand that contains the fresh floss and start working the dirty floss down to the other hand where it can be rolled onto the middle finger and kept until the job is complete.
- Repeat this process until all of the areas between the teeth are clean and then discard the used floss.