My brother and I were recently having a conversation about flossing and my sweet brother confessed that he hated flossing. After I pieced the thousand shards of my broken heart back together, I called him out on his betrayal. I told him I was shocked! He had always been a good flosser! He said he was only a flosser because he didn’t want problems, not because he actually liked it. It was yet another childhood “truth” that did not stand the test of time..!
Flossing is one of those things: people either love it or hate it. There are some alternatives for those who hate it, but first, why I love it!
Typically, thorough teeth brushing cleans about 60% of the cleansable surfaces of your teeth. Flossing accounts for the other 40%. Flossing works by applying friction to the sides of the teeth and actively scraping plaques and biofilms off the teeth above and below the gumline. In doing so, it also reduces stains that can build up between the teeth.
A good analogy is to imagine taking a stone from a river. Even though water has been flowing around the tooth, there is very likely some slime coating the surface. If you take your fingers and actively rub the stone, pretty soon it becomes smooth to the touch and slime-free. Flossing is essentially using string to access and remove the slime between the teeth.
The tooth slime is a biofilm, which is a tiny community of organisms growing together. Biofilms are easily likened to coral reefs: a community that grows and evolves into highly intricate communities comprised of interrelated organisms all dependent on each other. The problem with the biofilms of teeth is that they tend to evolve to support bacteria that cause cavities and gingivitis. Disrupting the biofilms helps to break up harmful bacteria before it has a chance to progress and become pathologic.
So, if you hate flossing, what alternatives are out there?
There are numerous tools and implements available to disrupt the biofilm on teeth. The most obvious is, of course, floss. At our office we also like interproximal brushes (they look like tiny Christmas trees), rubber tips, toothpicks, and flossers.
We also recommend Waterpiks and waterflossers. These devices work by diluting and essentially hosing out the spaces in between your teeth. These do have a slight learning curve and there are tons of videos online demonstrating their use. Pro tip: lean over the sink before you turn it on and while you’re using it!
As with all implements and devices, make sure you’re treating your gums gently. Many devices work better with a little less pressure (toothbrushes included; too much pressure actually causes the bristles to splay out and not work as well). Further, too much pressure can damage gums and teeth.
Side note: I’m not sure if this will work in all households but – Parents, if you can get the oldest child to floss, you may not have as many problems getting any younger children to as well. I wanted to do everything like my older brother did and to this day, I actually do love flossing..! Peer pressure can sometimes be a good thing!
