Reasons Why You Need To Floss Your Teeth

Most people think flossing is optional upon brushing your teeth. Note that, both teeth cleaning methods are complementary and flossing isn’t optional. Dentists advocate for flossing twice each day after brushing. Here are a few reasons why flossing is good for you.

A Preventative Oral Care Method

Your oral cavity contains a lot of germs and bacteria. You might be taking good care of your teeth but there’s always the danger of microorganisms and bacteria getting trapped in your teeth. It happens if you don’t take care of your teeth by watching your diet or brushing and flossing. By flossing, you’re moving the bacteria and food debris trapped in the areas where your toothbrush can’t reach. If you floss regularly you will prevent such bacteria from becoming plaque. Your teeth will appear yellowish in color because of the plaque and will become damaged with time. Therefore, you can always prevent this by brushing and flossing regularly. Read here for a guide on flossing

Prevents The Build-Up For Tartar

If you neglect your oral health, plaque will accumulate on your teeth within the shortest time possible. If you fail to remove the plaque, it hardens to become tartar. By flossing every day, you can always remove the plaque between your teeth and prevent tartar build up in your gum line.

Prevents Bad Breath

Any food that is trapped between the gum line and your teeth will create bacteria that often has unpleasant odor. If you floss each day, you will remove the bad breath from your mouth to keep it fresh and remove any unsightly food particles from your teeth.

Additional And Effective Oral Care

Brushing and flossing together works as an effective and additional oral care technique. Compare brushing without flossing to washing the outside of a cup but failing to clean the inside. Note that, at least 35% of the surfaces on your teeth will remain dirty if you brush and fail to floss. The toothbrush bristles can’t reach very far in between the teeth. That’s where dental floss comes in handy. It works effectively to remove any bacteria and food trapped between your teeth.

Prevents Gum Disease

Besides staining your teeth and making them unsightly, plaque can also do more damage to your teeth. If you don’t take good care of your teeth, you’re allowing plaque to build up and cause gum disease. It is the infection and inflammation of your gums. The plaque will eat away and erode the soft gum tissue eventually causing periodontal disease. When it advances, the disease is referred to as periodontitis which often causes root canal issues and extreme decay. To clear out the plaque, you need to floss at the base of your teeth.

Prevents Cavities

Additionally, plaque also causes cavities. If you don’t clear out the plaque from your teeth, any sweets you eat will cause cavities because the enamel has been eroded as well as the soft gum tissue. Therefore, floss each day immediately after brushing to get rid of any food particles that might cause plaque build-up and also cavities.
If you are still not convinced that flossing is necessary then read this article from Web MD on Flossing.  They are a trusted website and all the info you need is there.
If you need some advice on flossing or need any help then you should go see your dentist.  If you live near Wilsonville, OR then you should stop by Gates Dentistry in Wilsonville.