Even those of us lucky enough to have avoided trouble in the early cavity prone years are likely to be shocked with bad news at some point by the results of check up X-rays if no established routine for Flossing exists in their lives.
The absolute best way to avoid getting bad news from your dentist … is so simple – just FLOSS! Rick Glassman, DDS
Lets see – check up X-rays or Bitewings are specifically taken looking primarily for decay, attacking tooth structure between the teeth, that is likely unable to be seen during a visual clinical exam and often difficult to diagnose in X-rays in many situations – like teeth that are crowded. Patients understandably resist having X-rays taken and often these cavities lurking and growing in between un-flossed teeth ( ie inter-proximal decay) are often quite deep, involving many teeth ( back to back decay), threaten the nerves in teeth and compromise tooth structure that makes teeth prone to breakage, pain, food impaction trauma, and eventually tooth loss by extraction. All from not Flossing!
See also: “Chatelaine’s Expert on Oral Health“
Those of us not flossing, will look forward to gum disease over time – as we age. That’s just a fact – the way it is – guaranteed – no doubt about it … and still patients fail to connect the dots that flossing changes all that – flossing is better than any dental insurance available – and patients should understand dental problems that come from not flossing far outweigh problems from not brushing correctly or infrequent brushing .
Really? Who doesn’t brush their teeth during the course of a week? Yet so many of us never floss. I never met anyone who said, “I never brush my teeth” but I’ve met many patients that will sheepishly admit to not flossing at all! And patients are foolishly misguided to believe that seeing the Hygienist an extra time or two during the year will replace regular flossing the other 361 days each year. It won’t!
Those of us not flossing, will look forward to gum disease over time – as we age. That’s just a fact – the way it is – guaranteed – no doubt about it … Rick Glassman, DDS
Lets put it this way, it would be nice to hear, “I floss every day and I can’t go to bed or greet the day without flossing first” or “I feel guilty if I miss flossing each and every day.” Well, I do hear it! I hear it because I preach the gospel and relevance of Flossing. I tell my patients I do it every day, you should too. I inform them that I haven’t missed a day in years and demonstrate by flossing my own teeth quickly and efficiently with my eyes closed … I make the room quiet so they can “hear” what firm, healthy, regularly flossed gums sound like. I tell them how empowering it is to see all the bleeding stop after only two straight weeks of daily flossing… gone… done… over and out, and how I giggle as I remind myself that I will not end up needing gum surgery (no matter how much it thrills the numerous practiced periodontists available for us all). I will never need to retreat my beautifully previously restored teeth (the bonus of not flossing as a teenager). And at the same time I know I can spend hours of time relaxing in a hammock instead of lying prone while gripping the arm of a dental chair.
The point is . . .
We should make flossing proficiency mandatory in grade school and reward it with extra credit toward college admission, not to mention think about the money saved on unneeded dental care that could be applied to college savings or better still a sensible government approved incentive in the form of a tax write off for ZERO cavity check ups.
Honestly when I review the schedule each morning and realize the profound majority of daily work will be treating is some kind of problem between some poor back teeth due to not flossing, it sickens me!
These eager patients are ready to tackle the dental problem, perhaps they’re even ready to take out a loan, ask their parents for financial aid, ready to spend their just gotten tax refund so they can do what? … pony up for that crown and or cast post, and or root canal treatment, and or gum surgery? All for one tooth. And I tell them that this effort too shall fail and likely will fail badly if the new addition is not flossed! I remind them, “the best dental work is second best to the original … the same tooth that decayed from not flossing in the first place.”
… using a tooth pick or water-pik can help but will not eliminate the risk of tooth decay like plain old dental floss will.Rick Glassman, DDS
Patients need to be encouraged to get better at flossing and be educated as to what products work … using a tooth pick or water-pik can help but will not eliminate the risk of tooth decay like plain old dental floss will. If you hear, “I don’t like the mess” then tell them to do it in the shower. Praise their improvements when seen by having patients demonstrate floss competency at each appointment! No dentist wants to retreat their Patients dental work that they installed. So knowing that flossing adds years of service to your dentistry – think about giving a “flossing discount” for good probing without bleeding at their Hygeine appointments! We encourage night guards for grinding, thus protecting that expensive dental work. How about driving home the message about Flossing! Speaking of which, studies reveal that people that floss regularly live an average of 6 years longer! Anyone else given you an extra 6 lately?
Think about it. Be an example to your kids. Let your dentist figure out other less invasive ways to improve teeth with needs that still exist for many of us, even the flossers amongst us, that still have so many teeth that were wrecked by decay and larger fillings when we were kids… Kids that never heard about this thing called Floss!
So . . . start Flossing 2 B Free!