Flossing teeth

Minderbinder

I always assumed flossing is why Americans have better teeth. Or maybe they just have some cosmetic procedure? I floss occasionally but the older I get it seems brushing twice a day is an achievement. I have been to the dentist every year for check ups without many issues.

I don't floss cause my teeth are crowded too closely together to get the interdental brushes between them, and a dental nurse called me a thick for not being able to understand "twisting the floss backwards" and "getting it all wrong". What's the point so?

Surreptitious

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I don't floss cause my teeth are crowded too closely together to get the interdental brushes between them, and a dental nurse called me a thick for not being able to understand "twisting the floss backwards" and "getting it all wrong". What's the point so?

You're using the wrong one. Get the thinner flossers and they'll reach between the teeth.

paulbok

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

coconut oil seems to have a lot of uses actually it seems. My daughter cooks with it and you can use it as a moisturiser - and the mrs had a dry patch of skin on her arm and used coconut oil for a week or 2 and it cleared it up

It seems to be flavour of the month at the moment.
Until the obligatory Dail Mail heath shock warning about coconut oil

Cina

anna080 wrote: »

Flossing makes my gums bleed, so I can't imagine it's healthy to have bleeding gums every single day. I only floss when I've eaten something that gets stuck in me teef

It, like everything, is simply a case of getting used to it. As you continue to floss your gums become more resistant and the bleeding will stop.

it's a bit like when you're first learning guitar and the strings cause your fingers damage but as they build up resistance it's no longer an issue.

phater phagan

This might be off-subject, but it might also be relevant. I started a thread on it. Has anyone here had the experience of teeth implants abroad? I have heard surgeons here denigrate the idea of going to Hungary, Thailand etc., but I'm sure that there are very good dental surgeons in those countries. They can't all be charlatans. The cost of implants in Ireland are exorbitant and prohibitive for many people, and if they can have the procedure done elsewhere why not go there?
I have always brushed my teeth religiously, but did not floss - hence, my reason for this request, probably.

Story Bud?

I was too scared to go to the dentist for way too long. Embarrassingly so.

My gum started bleeding a few months ago and I was petrified that my teeth were all going to fall out so I went and bought corsodyl (marketing gurus creaming themselves right now). Started using that on the Friday and bit into an apple on the monday and my teeth hurt so I sucked it up and went to the dentist thinking I was going to need dentures. It wasn't so bad! No gum disease, just a little bit of plaque stuck in the gum (YACK!).

I'm now obsessed with flossing and brushing. I have dental floss everywhere. In my car. In my handbag. On my desk. I got an electric toothbrush and my teeth feel like I got a whole new set.

So yes. I floss. Often.

_Whimsical_

Minderbinder wrote: »

I always assumed flossing is why Americans have better teeth. Or maybe they just have some cosmetic procedure? I floss occasionally but the older I get it seems brushing twice a day is an achievement. I have been to the dentist every year for check ups without many issues.

Americans have better teeth due to less inbreeding. They have a much greater melting pot of humanity over there and much greater generic variety in their society than us or the English.
Also the Americans have been routinely getting veneers etc for years. So not all of their teeth are actually their teeth!

Nothing to do with flossing though sadly.

Has anyone tried those terrifying little interdental wire brushes? They're supposed to be the new latest and greatest thing.

Surreptitious

Surreptitious wrote: »

You're using the wrong one. Get the thinner flossers and they'll reach between the teeth.

Has been tried.

Winterlong

When growing up we were told that flossing and cleaning your teeth would help prevent bad breath.

My mum and dad would not have lied to me and I dont want bad breath- So I floss.

kylith

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

ooh i might give that a try because I have prett good teeth but they are going/gone brown and I have tried loads of different whitening tooth paste and never see any difference. Mind you a dentist did say that brown teeth are healthier teeth and that teeth are like porcelain and when porcelain gets old it goes brown.

No evidence that it actually does anything, and any other oil would do the same, cheaper. Also idk about you but the thought of swishing grease around my mouth for more than quarter of an hour makes me want to puke.

Tipperary Fairy

It's only when you start flossing that you realise how much you didn't get at with your brushing. You get to know the foods that will hang around.

I of course brush twice a day, thinking of upping to after lunch also while I'm not out. use an electric toothbrush, much much better than manuals, floss twice a day too. Sometimes use mouthwash at night, when you can feel something hanging around on your tongue. I would feel gross if I didn't brush twice, and floss.

I was never taught any of this growing up, was just told to brush after breakfast and that was it. It's only in recent years I've taken proper care of my teeth, and it's still not good enough as I have to get a root canal soon.

Budgese, don't let the dental nurse put you off. Get some waxed floss and start with that. I nearly pulled my teeth out when trying to use the interdental brushes, awful things. But floss works perfectly fine, just run it through front to back and back to front a few times on every gap.

There was an ama from a dentist on Reddit I came across recently, it was very informative and funny, worth a look.

Winterlong

I used to have a bad gag reflex that made flossing the back teeth very hard.
This yoke completely solved that problem. Deadly yoke all together.
http://denture2go.com/images/floss-holder.jpg

Wigglepuppy

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

Americans have better teeth due to less inbreeding. They have a much greater melting pot of humanity over there and much greater generic variety in their society than us or the English.
Also the Americans have been routinely getting veneers etc for years. So not all of their teeth are actually their teeth!

Nothing to do with flossing though sadly.

Has anyone tried those terrifying little interdental wire brushes? They're supposed to be the new latest and greatest thing.

Yeah i used them for a bit but found them quite sore/harsh on the gum due to being actual wires. So just went back to flossing.

Boom_Bap

I keep telling my dentist that I floss. I bet he knows that I'm lying to him.

Mister Vain

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

sod that getting poked with that sharp metal thing into me teeth and being told off/lectured to about cleaning them properly

Deleted User wrote: »

a dental nurse called me a thick for not being able to understand "twisting the floss backwards" and "getting it all wrong".

That's terrible carry on. I remember getting told off as a child but do dentists still talk like that to adults?

Surreptitious

Mister Vain wrote: »

That's terrible carry on. I remember getting told off as a child but do dentists still talk like that to adults?

Not in my experience. Always got on well with dentists. Sounds unusual unless the patient genuinely has shocking teeth. Edit, a dental nurse is not a dentist so I wouldn't listen to her much.

FizzleSticks

This post has been deleted.

gramar

My ma told me that when they were small they used ash from the fire to get their teeth clean and it actually made them whiter.

Andy From Sligo

gramar wrote: »

My ma told me that when they were small they used ash from the fire to get their teeth clean and it actually made them whiter.

yep i heard that as well

Andy From Sligo

Deleted User wrote: »

I don't floss cause my teeth are crowded too closely together to get the interdental brushes between them, and a dental nurse called me a thick for not being able to understand "twisting the floss backwards" and "getting it all wrong". What's the point so?

I have overcrowded teeth too especially at the bottom and they are crooked. i wouldnt be able to get the floss tape/string in between my teeth

Andy From Sligo

phater phagan wrote: »

This might be off-subject, but it might also be relevant. I started a thread on it. Has anyone here had the experience of teeth implants abroad? I have heard surgeons here denigrate the idea of going to Hungary, Thailand etc., but I'm sure that there are very good dental surgeons in those countries. They can't all be charlatans. The cost of implants in Ireland are exorbitant and prohibitive for many people, and if they can have the procedure done elsewhere why not go there?
I have always brushed my teeth religiously, but did not floss - hence, my
reason for this request, probably.

I think myself personally if I had work done like that in one of those countries I would be forever wondering what it would be like if there were any complications afterwards

Andy From Sligo

Story Bud? wrote: »

I was too scared to go to the dentist for way too long. Embarrassingly so.

My gum started bleeding a few months ago and I was petrified that my teeth were all going to fall out so I went and bought corsodyl (marketing gurus creaming themselves right now). Started using that on the Friday and bit into an apple on the monday and my teeth hurt so I sucked it up and went to the dentist thinking I was going to need dentures. It wasn't so bad! No gum disease, just a little bit of plaque stuck in the gum (YACK!).

I'm now obsessed with flossing and brushing. I have dental floss everywhere. In my car. In my handbag. On my desk. I got an electric toothbrush and my teeth feel like I got a whole new set.

So yes. I floss. Often.

My wife had terrible pain one in her teeth once, and she managed to get a pretty quick appointment in a few days, thinking she was gonna need a filling or tooth out he stuck his pointy metal thing in and all it was, was a tiny piece of hard bacon that got stuck in between her teeth , thats all it was causing all that pain!

learn_more

I was always extremely sceptical about flossing. Not least because I do have gum problems but when I floss I see absolutely no improvement as a results of the additional flossing , none whatsoever. Not even a tiny tiny placebo bit.

I've always though that ppl who floss like the guy who said they could floss for hours on the dental forum a little bit odd. I think people who have perfect teeth are more likely to floss cause they like admiring their own perfect teeth. One could say they have perfect teeth because they floss but I always believed if one had perfect teeth flossing is even more pointless.

Anyhoo with this report all suspicions have been proven for me. Take what was always said about flossing properly. So many reports I read went like 'oh ppl are not flossing perfectly , you have to do it up and down, not sawing motion'. This to me was the thing that most bemused me always. What on earth is the difference between flossing up and down vs sawing motion? How could that possibly make any significant difference to anything. If flossing can't be proven to work how could anyone have concluded that up and down was better than back and forth. What were they basing the advice on? It couldn't have been better gum health because that now can't be show as per this report. Someone just made it up as they went along, to give the illusion there was some real science behind it. You really have to laugh when you think about the stupidity of it all.

Andy From Sligo

Winterlong wrote: »

When growing up we were told that flossing and cleaning your teeth would help prevent bad breath.

My mum and dad would not have lied to me and I dont want bad breath- So I floss.

I use listerine, chew sugar free gum throughout day, and dont smoke and dont have no rotting teeth and keep clear of garlic and spices when i can = no bad breath, am so conscious of bad breath that sometimes I breath into my hand an sniff it lol. It smells minty anyway.

Muahahaha

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

IF I have got gum disease I think I will know about it when me teeth start going loose and I start spitting out blood ... then I will most probably get some Corsydol or whatever its called - they (my gums) always look a lovely healthy pinky white colour every morning

Thing is though if your gums are bleeding then they are likely inflammed- look in the mirror and if the gums are very red where they meet your teeth then you might have gingivitis which will make your gums recede until they cant hold the roots of your teeth in place anymore and the teeth become loose and fall out. If you let gum disease go unchecked you might have a whole world of trouble down the line because it can be really difficult to reverse, gums dont grow back well when theyve receeded.

Implants or dentures will cost you more than the price of a small new car, better to be proactive than regret it later imo

stinkle

My dentist in Ireland recommended Superfloss to me. It's pre-cut floss with a rigid plastic tip at each end that you can use to guide the floss through more easily, and the floss itself is sort of two textures. I had braces and got a bonded retainer put on the back of the teeth to stop them moving so need to be so mindful of not getting food stuck around them too. Unfortunately some of the spaces between my teeth are too tight and flossing is a pain, even with Superfloss.

My new dentist gave me little threader things made of thin plastic that look like a needle threader that you can use to pull the floss through and it works like a charm for me, even in the tightest of spaces. Eez-thru is the name of the ones he gave me and Im sure they're available online

I have a Waterpik too but find it's a pain in the arse to use sometimes.

Story Bud?

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

My wife had terrible pain one in her teeth once, and she managed to get a pretty quick appointment in a few days, thinking she was gonna need a filling or tooth out he stuck his pointy metal thing in and all it was, was a tiny piece of hard bacon that got stuck in between her teeth , thats all it was causing all that pain!

I wish I hadn't read that before breakfast.

Puke.

Maybe she should floss.

gramar

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

yep i heard that as well

When were you talking to my ma?

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

I floss, maybe it doesn't do a lot but I feel cleaner getting that piece of string in between my teeth makes me feel like my teeth are cleaner. Teeth are important. I'll mind mine as much as I can. Would love veneers though.