Toothbrushing cannot clean the adjacent surfaces of teeth. If we want to remove the plaque accumulated on the adjacent tooth surfaces, we must use dental floss daily. Parents or caregivers can assist children or people in need to clean adjacent tooth surfaces by using a floss holder.
Plaque accumalated on the adjacent teeth surfaces
Flossing
technique:
1.
Use a piece of dental floss which is approximately 20-25 cm long. Tie both ends to make a loop.Use the thumbs and the forefingers of both hands to hold the floss, leaving about 2 cm of floss in between.
2.
Use a sawing motion; gently slide the floss towards the gingival (gum) margin.
3.
Wrap around one tooth making a "C" shape and gently slide it up and down against the tooth. Then wrap around the adjacent tooth and repeat the up and down motions.
Move the floss holder left and right and slowly slide the floss towards the gingival margin. Pull the floss tightly against one of the adjacent tooth surfaces.
2.
Start from the bottom of the gingival margins, gently slide the floss up and down to clean the adjacent tooth surface.
3.
Pull the floss tightly against the other adjacent tooth surface.
4.
Using the same technique, starting from the bottom of the gingival margins, gently slide the floss up and down to clean the other adjacent tooth surface.
Points to note:
In case of gingival recession due to Periodontal Disease, the gap between the roots of neighbouring teeth will be wide. Then, an interdental toothbrush may be used instead of dental floss.
Solutions to problems in using dental floss
Difficult to control the dental floss:
The
further the distance between the two fingers holding
the floss, the more difficult it will be to control
it . Therefore, you should keep the distance between
the fingers to be about 2 cm and you can tighten
up the floss when flossing. This will help improve
the situation.
Difficult to clean the posterior teeth:
To clean the adjacent tooth surfaces of posterior teeth, you will need to use the forefingers to control the floss inside the mouth.
Improper
use of dental floss
causes injury to the gingivae:
Correct use of dental floss will not cause any damage to the gingivae. Remember, you have to slowly “slide” the dental floss into the interdental space, pull the floss taut against one side of the adjacent tooth surfaces, start from the bottom of the gingival sulcus, and pull the floss up and down to clean the surface. This will not injure the gingival tissue.
Difficult to slide the floss into the interdental space:
This can be caused by the accumulation of calculus. The situation will be improved once the calculus has been removed by scaling. Remember to brush and floss your teeth daily after the calculus has been removed.
