Most people will brush their teeth at least twice a day, and while toothbrushing is effective in helping to keep your mouth clean and fresh, it cannot reach all tooth surfaces. These include the contact areas between your teeth that account for around a third of all tooth surfaces. For this task, you need to use dental floss or interdental brushes or another tool such as a water pik. While interdental cleaning is important, not everybody performs this task daily, but it is one of the most effective and easiest things you can do to help improve and maintain optimal dental health in Oshawa.

Why Is It Important to Clean between Your Teeth Every Day?

Everybody has had that unpleasant sensation of having something caught between their teeth, and this is one reason why it’s important to floss daily. Flossing or using another form of interdental cleaning removes any small pieces of food trapped between your teeth before they can begin to rot and smell unpleasant.

Another very important reason for cleaning in between your teeth each day is to get rid of dental plaque. Every day, dental plaque builds up over your tooth surfaces and is a sticky biofilm containing harmful bacteria. Your toothbrush can remove dental plaque from other tooth surfaces, but it will not eliminate plaque between your teeth. Over time, this can increase your risk of tooth decay in Whitby and gum disease. The bacteria in plaque can feast on leftover food particles trapped between your teeth and produce harmful toxins that infect and inflame your gums. Gum disease or periodontal disease is a major cause of tooth loss and has been linked to serious health problems, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Unfortunately, the first signs of gum disease are easy to miss and especially if you don’t see a dentist in Ajax regularly. Early symptoms include gums that look red or swollen and often bleed when you brush your teeth.

How to Choose the Right Tools for Interdental Cleaning?

When you come to your dental checkup and see our hygienist for your regular dental cleaning, they can review your brushing and flossing routine and show you easy and effective ways to floss or clean between your teeth.

Flossing

Initially, flossing might seem tricky, but it is very quick and easy when you use the right technique. One common mistake is to use too short a length of dental floss as you need about 45 cm to clean your entire mouth. This ensures you use a new section for each tooth. Also, there are many different types of floss that you may want to try, including floss designed for tightly packed teeth. It’s worth trying a few different kinds so you can choose the best brand for your needs.

Interdental Brushes and Soft Picks

If you cannot get on with flossing, you may want to try interdental brushes or soft picks. Interdental brushes look a bit like Christmas tree-shaped brushes and are designed so you can fit them in between each tooth, moving them back and forth two or three times to clean the contact area thoroughly. They come in various sizes, and you might need to use different sizes for different areas in your mouth. Soft picks are rubbery and working a very similar way.

Water Pik

Another option is to buy a water pik, an electrical device that squirts pressurized water between each tooth and can be very quick and effective at cleaning between each tooth. It is an option that might be especially good for anyone who finds it difficult to manipulate dental floss or interdental brushes easily.