Keep Your Gums Healthy: Tips for Flossing
Gum disease, which is caused by germs, can make your teeth fall out. To get rid of these germs and save your teeth, brush twice a day and floss at least once a day.
To floss your teeth:
Pull out about 18 inches of floss, and wind most of it around the middle finger on one hand. ind the remaining floss on the same finger of the other hand so you have just a few inches between your fingers.
Hold the floss between your thumbs and forefingers, and gently run it back and forth between each tooth.
Curve the floss along the gum line of each tooth, and slide it up and down.
When you get down to the gum, curve the floss into a C shape against one tooth. Slide it gently into the space between the gum and the tooth.
Hold the floss tightly against the tooth. Gently rub up and down against the side of the tooth.
Repeat for each tooth. Remember to floss the back side of your back teeth.
“Flossing.” Mouth Healthy, American Dental Association. www.mouthhealthy.org/en/az-topics/f/flossing.aspx Accessed 2013.
“Should I Floss.” Know Your Teeth, Academy of General Dentistry, January 2012. www.knowyourteeth.com/infobites/abc/article Accessed 2013.