Flossing clears your teeth of plaque-causing bacteria, something your toothbrush is not designed to do in the areas between your teeth. Have you ever wondered how flossing came to being? Flossing all began when a New Orleans dentist started advising his patients to clean in the between areas of their teeth using a thin silk thread. This began to catch on, and in 1882 the Massachusetts based company Codman and Shurtleft Company began marketing unwaxed silk dental floss. Six years later, a New Jersey based company known as Johnson & Johnson took out a patent for dental floss in 1898, made from the same silk material doctors used for silk stitches.
Today your flossing options include:
Dental tape (wide floss)
Waxed floss
Unwaxed floss
Flossing sticks
Pointed rubber tips
Wooden or plastic picks
Water flossers
With so many types of floss methods on the market today there is no good reason to skip this vital step in your oral hygiene routine. Flossing is a matter of finding a method that works best for you and then taking time to do it. Whether you floss before or after brushing your teeth, before bed or when you wake up really doesn’t matter, what matters is that you just do it, because NOT flossing leads to bleeding gums.
Since flossing is your #1 plaque-fighting weapon in the battle for optimal oral health–According to the Academy of General Dentistry, (AGD)–find a method you like and use it daily! For more information, see your dentist or give the team at Vernon Woods Dental Care Associates a call at 404-381-1734 today.