Hygiene Basics: Flossing 101

Cliché as it may be, a dental hygienist is always going to nag you about your flossing habits and technique.  This is because proper flossing removes plaque and food debris in places where a toothbrush cannot easily reach — under the gum line and between your teeth.

Here are a few tips to make the arduous process of flossing a little bit easier.

First, start with about 15-18 inches of floss.

Then, wind most of the floss around each middle finger, leaving an inch or two of floss to work between the teeth.  Anchoring the floss around the middle fingers allows our most dexterous fingers, the thumb and index finger, free to do most of the maneuvering.

Next, hold the floss taut between your thumbs and index fingers and move it back and forth until it moves gently between your teeth.

The key to great flossing is curving the floss around the tooth, like a C, and make sure you slide beneath the gum line.

Use clean sections of floss as you move from tooth to tooth.

Finally, to remove the floss, use the same back and forth motion to move through the contact of the teeth, or you can simply let one finger free of the floss and pull the floss through the space.

Click here to view Colgate's educational video of proper flossing technique.