Flossing

[Wowbagger]

I went for my 6-monthly check up last week and as ever, the dentist asked me whether I use dental floss.

No matter how hard I try, I find the stuff impossible to get on with. I simply don't know how to get it between my teeth, especially the one pair of teeth which are a severe food trap. the gap between them is pretty well sealed by filling. I always use a toothpick to remove food bits.

Are there any others here so flossically challenged?

[Sergeant Pluck]

Same here.

I can get the floss to go through but it just doesn't seem to do much of a job.

I go to get a check up and thorough clean every 6 months. In addition to the ultrasonic cleaner, the dentist uses something that seems much more effective - a kind of very thin abrasive wafer. I've never seen the equivalent in the chemists.

[hellymedic]

I manage flossing OK, though some gaps have been difficult until cleaned by the dentist. A dental hygienist once told me tape, rather than floss, paradoxically was better for tight gaps. This advice suited me fine but my partner can't get on with tape.

[Regulator]

Same here.

I can get the floss to go through but it just doesn't seem to do much of a job.

I go to get a check up and thorough clean every 6 months. In addition to the ultrasonic cleaner, the dentist uses something that seems much more effective - a kind of very thin abrasive wafer. I've never seen the equivalent in the chemists.

Oral-B produce an electric toothbrush with interdental picks which are similar to the thingy used by the dentists.

The other place to look for useful items is Boots Oral Health Expert Range.

[PrettyBoyTim]

I've always had trouble with flossing as well. Just recently I got some of these:

,

and they do make it a bit easier.

[Charlotte]

I use those, too.  Much easier.

We should have a photo thread for "things I've found on my piece of floss".

Maybe call it "not a pleasant placker"

[Butterfly]

I don't like the things with a handle - you have to bring them back up. If you use tape or floss you can pull them through the wider gap at the base of the teeth, so it doesn't get caught.

[clarion]

My teeth are about as close together as they can get without being pushed much out of line.  Too tight to get floss in without considerable pain.

[Tiger]

I use a water pick which is brill - like a small jetwash for the teeth.  Also good for cleaning the sink.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

We should have a photo thread for "things I've found on my piece of floss".

No, no we shouldn't. 

A friend of mine on another forum, when she was breastfeeding her twins, had a thread called "things you've found in your cleavage at the end of the day that you didn't know were there." Her first entry was a piece of crisp, something else which I can't remember, and two plastic soldiers.

[toekneep]

I hate using floss. I always manage to cut my gums aka cheese wire effect. I use the little plastic things (up thread, no pun intended) which are much more manageable. I get told off for not flossing every time I go to the dentist, I just ignore it.

[ScumOfTheRoad]

I use a water pick which is brill - like a small jetwash for the teeth.  Also good for cleaning the sink.

Which brand please? I've often though of getting one of these.

[Sergeant Pluck]

Oral-B produce an electric toothbrush with interdental picks which are similar to the thingy used by the dentists

I have that toothbrush and didn't get on with those picks at all I'm afraid. Binned them, along with almost all the other attachments, in short order.

[Raph]

There are various versions of those "plackers" shown above - the ones I find best have the bit of floss at right angles to the handle rather than in line with it. I'll look up the brand name in a bit.

Also good is tiny interdental brushes, like baby bottle brushes but tiny - there are two versions - these things:

http://www.toothbrushdirect.co.uk/tepe_dental_equipment.php

and smaller ones that clip into a handle so you can get into gaps between molars.

[Butterfly]

I hate using floss. I always manage to cut my gums aka cheese wire effect. I use the little plastic things (up thread, no pun intended) which are much more manageable. I get told off for not flossing every time I go to the dentist, I just ignore it.

If you floss daily for a couple of weeks the bleeding stops and the dentist thinks you're marvelous .

[Salvatore]

I was told to use Curaprox interdental brushes last time as I just couldn't get on with flossing. They're similar to the tepe products and v expensive, but I've had my mouth refurbished at a cost of over £10,000 over the last couple of years and I look on it as protecting my investment.

[Greenbank]

There's various bits of research out there to say that flossing adds a significant amount of time (i.e more than 5 years) to life expectancy. It's all to do with the fact that the gums constitute a large surface area of soft tissue with easy access to the blood stream (much more permeable than skin). It's in your interest to keep this area as clean as possible. I've also had significant dental work done recently (about half the cost of JS) and now look after it properly. If you're unsure about it get your dentist to show you how to floss properly.

[rogerzilla]

My teeth all butt right up against each other and it's not possible to get anything in there.  It doesn't seem to cause any problems though - I still have 32 of them and the dentist never complains.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

I simply don't know how to get it between my teeth, especially the one pair of teeth which are a severe food trap. the gap between them is pretty well sealed by filling.

Your dentist might be able to file the filling down a bit to allow you to get floss in. I had to get a filling filed a bit to let the floss through. I like the tape more than the floss though.

[Jaded]

If you floss you are more likely to get lucky with Clint Eastwood.

[m100]

There's various bits of research out there to say that flossing adds a significant amount of time (i.e more than 5 years) to life expectancy.

You don't get to enjoy it though....as you've just spent 5 years of your life flossing.    

I don't have the required coordination to use floss, I end up with severe cramp in my hands cut gums and my mouth full of blood.  Instead I use a waterpik - I bought it in the USA a few years ago, http://www.waterpik.com/