Flossing is a crucial step in your oral hygiene regimen, the practice you complete at home to keep your smile clean. When you floss, you gently insert waxed string between your teeth and rub it against the teeth’s sides to remove harmful build-up.
Brushing your teeth will not always reach these tricky spots between your teeth. So you need to floss at least once a day in order to ensure your mouth stays as clean as it needs to be.
You can feel more encouraged to adhere to this practice when you understand the advantages that regular flossing brings to your oral health. Read on to learn three of the many benefits you can notice in the look and feel of your smile when you floss on a routine basis.
Keep Your Breath Fresh
If you skip brushing your teeth, you will likely notice that your breath will start to smell bad. This happens because plaque, a gritty film over the teeth, contains bacteria that emit a foul odor over time. Also, lingering food particles start to decay in the mouth if left on your smile. And this will begin to smell bad as well.
A toothbrush eliminates plaque and other residues that contribute to bad breath. But it cannot reach spots between your teeth. And if this build-up remains in your mouth, you could still experience bad breath. Floss regularly to reduce your risk of bad breath and keep your mouth fresh and clean.
Maintain a Beautiful Smile
Bacterial build-up and other residues will do more than smell when they remain in your mouth. These harmful particles will start to eat away at your dental structure, weakening the enamel, or outer layer of your teeth.
Weakened or thinned enamel can change the appearance of your teeth. You might see dark or white stains, translucence, yellowing, or other discoloration in your teeth if you suffer from enamel erosion.
You can then see a blow to your self-esteem if you feel unhappy about this dental discoloration. Consult a cosmetic dentist to enhance the appearance of your teeth. But you can also preserve the look of your smile with proper oral hygiene. This will include flossing to protect your tooth color.
Reduce Risks of Dental Dangers
If you do not remove plaque, tartar, or other residues from your smile in a timely fashion, they will deteriorate the structure of your teeth. This weakening puts your teeth in danger of many dental concerns. For instance, natural oral bacteria can penetrate these weak spots to give you cavities.
Lingering plaque also allows bacteria to spread easily. This increases your chances of contracting an infection in the gum tissue called periodontal disease. You will need dental attention to treat gum disease. So you should prevent it in the first place with proper care like flossing.
Flossing will maximize preventative dental care so that you can avoid dental emergencies. This will save you the time, money, and hassle of extra restorative dental work.