You may brush your teeth twice a day and use your
favorite mouth rinse afterwards, but are your teeth really clean? The parts of the teeth that you see are
clean, but a large percentage of cavities and gum problems occur in the areas
that your brush doesn’t reach!
Teeth fit closely together and the bristles on the
toothbrush do not fully reach between the teeth. Cleaning in between your teeth (also known as
interdental cleaning) is the best defense.
Without cleaning interdentally you are at risk for cavities, gum
disease, bad breath, tarter build-up, as well as at risk for heart disease.
There are many choices for how to clean in between your
teeth. For today, let’s focus on three
of our favorite recommendations at Meiners Dentistry:
1) Flossing can be as easy as 1 -2 -3. 1) Pull yourself about 18” of dental floss,
wrap it around your fingers leaving about 1” between to work in between the
teeth. 2) Glide the floss gently between
the teeth, dipping below the gum line. 3) Move the floss up and down rubbing
the side of each tooth. If you think
floss is hard to handle or you just can’t reach those hard to reach places,
there are other products on the market to aid in cleaning between your teeth. There are dental picks, water picks, proxy
brushes, and soft picks.
Now, if the following cartoon
represents your view on flossing, read on and check out some of the
alternatives below:
2) Soft Picks by GUM – these interdental cleaners are
some of our favorites! These are very
easy to use and clean absolutely great in between the teeth. They are very easy to pack in your pocket or
purse to have on the go.
3) Showerfloss - Would you clean in between your teeth if you could get it done in the
shower with pressured warm water and no mess afterwards? How about if this system was only about $35
shipped and easy to install in any shower?
If this sounds good to you then head over to http://www.showerfloss.com
and check out their unique system. Dr.
Zach has this personally in his home and loves the system. If
this doesn’t appeal to you, check out the similar product Waterpik - http://www.waterpik.com/
