Flossing – a weapon to clean the gap between teeth We generally can only clean the exposed parts of the teeth by brushing, for some hidden parts, i.e. the parts where two teeth touch each other, the bristles of the toothbrush cannot enter well due to the hidden location, even if we brush very carefully, we cannot clean these parts, resulting in these parts becoming hygienic “dead ends”. Most of us brush our teeth carefully also always have 30% to 40% of the tooth surface brush is not complete, especially those who have unevenly aligned teeth, because the teeth inside and outside, crowded and overlapping, the general brushing is difficult to brush these teeth each tooth surface clean. If you know how to floss correctly, you will make up for this deficiency. Some people use toothpicks first. It is true that toothpicks can enter the adjacent surfaces of the teeth and pick out the food residues between the teeth, but the surface of toothpicks is relatively rough and does not meet the needs of oral health care. When used, they can easily damage gum tissues and cause gum bleeding, which, over time, can easily cause gum recession. The best way to maintain hygiene on the adjacent surfaces of teeth is to use dental floss. Flossing is still new to most people in China, but it has been used in many countries for a long time. Flossing is an essential step for cleaning the surface of the teeth and for removing any food that may have become lodged. It is an essential step for dental cleaning. It is recommended to use it before each brushing. I. Cleaning range and function of dental floss The adjoining surface of teeth (the surface between teeth) cannot be brushed by toothbrushes, so we have to use dental floss to “scrape” the plaque off the adjoining surface. Flossing can also remove food from the teeth, but the main function of flossing is to remove the adjacent surfaces of the teeth. How to choose dental floss? 1, you can choose floss with mint or other favorite spices, and also those with fluoride and other antibacterial ingredients; 2, for some people who have difficulty flossing by hand, you can use a small floss holder: floss is a very ideal tool for cleaning teeth. Floss is mostly made of nylon, polyester or silk thread, dentistry line is generally coated with wax, some are also coated with aromatic agents and fluoride, floss is mostly flat, not too thick or too thin, to remove the toothbrush is not easy to brush the food debris in the crevice and the soft scales on the teeth. There are two types of dental floss available in the market: wax-free and waxed. If you are new to flossing, wax-free floss is preferred. How many times do I have to scrape the adjacent surfaces of my teeth with floss? How many times do you have to scrape? The best indicator is to scrape until a “squeaking” sound occurs. It’s like the “squeak” we hear when we wash the dishes. You can easily hear this sound with waxless floss, while waxed floss must be scraped off before you can hear this sound. The difference between waxed and unwaxed flossing in terms of cleaning effect is not much, but we recommend using unwaxed floss for the convenience of use and learning. III. When should I floss? For most people, flossing once a day is sufficient, and the best time to floss is after dinner and before bed. You can floss before or after brushing your teeth. Be sure to rinse your mouth after flossing to rinse out any debris. Fourth, the use of dental floss 1, cut off arm-length dental floss (about 45 cm for adults); 2, one end around the second finger of the middle finger to save two turns, about 20 centimeters away and then two turns around the second knuckle of the middle finger of the other hand; 3, a finger clenched fist, you can tense the floss; 4, turn both hands, so that the palm outward, while straightening the thumb and index finger of both hands, so that they are always angle quadrilateral, while the thumb This is the proper length of floss between the two middle fingers and is also the basic gesture for flossing; 5, press the floss over the fleshy area between the index finger of one hand and the thumb of the other. Keep a centimeter of floss between the two fingers; 6, two fingers straight, nail to nail, bring the floss into the gap; 7, the floss will be taut on the adjacent surface of the teeth so that it is slightly C-shaped up and down scraping, two fingers at the same time up and down movement; 8, scraping the other side of the same gap; 9, the same way, clean the teeth of the second gap; 10, scraping the adjacent surface of the lower row of incisors, the index finger changed to a top-to-bottom posture, at this time the to neighbor for The arm of the index finger should be raised; 11, index finger inside, thumb outside, while moving up and down; 12, scraping the back teeth area, use both hands index finger; 13, one hand index finger will be slightly propped up the corner of the mouth and cheeks; 14, from the canine teeth to start, clean up one by one; 15, both hands index finger while moving up and down; 16, can first scrape the upper jaw back teeth area, at this time, the head can be tilted back to facilitate vision; 17, scraping the lower jaw back teeth area, is also The same method, at this time, the lower jaw, in order to facilitate the line of sight; 18, to do the last tooth of the last face; 19, the initial learning should be easier to start from the front teeth, gradually to the back teeth to do. (1) pull out a piece of floss (about 30 cm long) and wrap the ends of the line around the middle finger of the left and right hand; (2) use the index finger and the thumb of the other hand to tense the floss, the distance between the two fingers is about 5 cm; (3) use a gentle saw-like action to pull the floss between the two teeth, the floss gently through the contact point between the two teeth (3) use a gentle saw-like action to pull the floss between the two teeth, the floss gently pass through the contact point between the two teeth, so that the floss is tightly attached to the tooth surface, pull the floss up and down and inside and outside, the embedded food can be brought out with the movement of the floss, the floss is tightly attached to the tooth surface into a C shape, gently move from the root to the crown direction, you can remove the tartar and plaque attached to the adjacent surface of the teeth, each tooth surface should be scraped up and down 4-6 times, until the tooth surface is clean; (4) pull the saw-like action to remove the floss, rinse the mouth to remove the plaque and food residue left behind (4) Remove the floss with a saw-like motion and rinse your mouth to remove the plaque and food debris left behind: however, be careful not to use too much force so as not to damage the gums. It is important to use different sections of floss to get into different gaps and always remove plaque from the adjacent surfaces with clean floss.