Looking After Your Teeth: Flossing

Choosing your Floss

The array of dental floss and tape on the market is just as bewildering as the range of toothpaste available. You can find everything from flavoured floss to waxed tape, designed to fill every corner of the market.

As with toothpaste however, it's far more important to find a brand of floss that you get on with to ensure that you floss your teeth at least once a day. Cleaning between your teeth where your brush can't reach can help to avoid problems such as gum recession and interdental pocketing.

Flossing Technique

  1. Tear off an 18-inch length of floss or tape from the roll and wind it around your fingers so that you have a couple of inches of taut floss.
  2. Starting on one side of your upper or lower set of teeth, gently ease the floss into the first gap of the row.
  3. Work the floss around and through the gap to remove any bacteria or food particles.
  4. Move on the the next gap and repeat, remembering to use a slightly different section of floss for each gap.
  5. Continue until you have flossed all the gaps between your teeth.
  6. Finish off with a mouthwash to rinse away all the particles you have worked loose.