Tuesday, August 5, 2008

My Flossing Question

A few weeks ago I had a conversation with a friend of mine about flossing. We were discussing the best time to floss. You see, I brush my teeth, floss, and then rinse with mouth wash. She, on the other hand, flosses and then brushes. We wondered about which way was correct. Which should you do first? We came to no real conclusion.

Shortly after this talk I went to the dentist. While sitting in the chair, dreading my time, I decided to pose this question to the dental assistant. She seemed nice enough. When I asked her she said (with a look of disgust on her face):

"You shouldn't just be flossing when you brush your teeth. You should be flossing every few hours during the day. So there really isn't an answer that I can give you, besides floss more."

Ha ha ha.

She then went on to tell me all about flossing. I thought it was slightly insulting, but funny at the same time. I did, however, have some cavities so I guess she is probably right. Then again, that was my first trip to the dentist in over 3 year. Sick, I know, but I really don't like it there.

5 comments:

Jeana

well apparently i don't floss enough either, but i floss then brush, i used to do it the other way around, mostly because i'd forget first, then my husband said it was gross to do it after you brush because it defeats the purpose. well we can't have our husbands thinking we're gross right? so i switched

Kellybean

I am a certified dental assistant so I can answer your question. They say to floss after you brush because sometimes toothpaste gets stuck in your teeth also it helps that toothpaste clean in between your teeth. However me knowing all that I still floss before I brush, I just prefer it that way.

The Price Family

Well teeth are my specialty. I am no dentist, but I did work at dentist office for a few years, my sister works in that field and my mother in-law. So my professional opinion is that you DO NOT need to floss all day long. Flossing when you brush is fine (assuming that you brush at least 2 times a day) And I too recently discovered that the thing to do is floss BEFORE you brush so that all the plaque will be ready for the tooth brush to take away. Happy flossing!!!

Ashley Dudley

hahahahha! you have the best stories, i absolutely love it, personally i brush, then floss, then brush again. weird i know....well i guess that is when i actually floss, which isnt often...sick but true

Hanna

I just carry those little personal flossing things attatched to the plastic. It helps remind me. Flossing was always a pain because it is easy to forget.