When it comes to this essential practice, there are two most popular methods: flossing and interdental brushing. Which is the right choice for you? The answer differs from person to person, but we can provide you with all the information you’ll need to make up your mind.
This is why cleaning between your teeth is important, along with everything you need to know to choose how to do it and learn to do it correctly.
Why is cleaning between your teeth important?
There are several reasons why cleaning between your teeth is an essential aspect of any complete oral health care routine, including:
The removal of interdental plaque
Not matter how thoroughly you brush your teeth, you can’t reach between your teeth with a toothbrush alone. If you don’t clean between your teeth with floss or an interdental brush or pick, you are missing up to 40% of your tooth surfaces, and plaque will build up between your teeth just like it would on your teeth and gum line if you didn’t brush.
When plaque is allowed to build up between the teeth, it can create bad breath and make your teeth look yellow. Worse, if it’s allowed to continue to sit between your teeth, the bacteria in plaque, such as Streptococcus mutans will feed themselves on the sugar you eat and produce acid. These acids will eat away at the enamel of your teeth in a process called demineralization.
Demineralization is the first stage of tooth decay, where your teeth begin to lose calcium and phosphate. If decay is allowed to spread to more sensitive parts of the tooth, such as your dentin, your enamel may collapse entirely, creating cavities or causing tooth sensitivity and tooth aches.
If tooth decay spreads far enough, it can even damage the root and pulp of your tooth, causing damage that can be irreversible without professional care. Eventually, professionals may need to remove a decayed tooth entirely to prevent it from posing further risks to your overall health.
The prevention of tartar formation
Over time, plaque that remains on the surface of your teeth will calcify, or mineralize into calcium, and turn into a substance called tartar (also called dental calculus). Tartar is a darker, harder deposit than plaque that tends to look like yellow, brown, or black stains. Unlike plaque, tartar is not possible to remove from your teeth and mouth without a dental health professional’s help.
Not only does tartar look and smell bad, but it’s an ideal place for more plaque to build up and stick to the inside of your mouth. This perpetuates and even expedites the plaque accumulation and formation cycle, further increasing your risk of plaque-related health challenges, such as tooth and gum disease.
Lowering risk of gum disease
When plaque and tartar are allowed to accumulate between your teeth, they will irritate your gums and lead to swelling, also known as gingivitis, which is the first stage of gum disease.
Left alone, gingivitis can progress to periodontitis, a more advanced stage of gum disease that causes bone and tissue loss around your teeth and has even been linked to general health conditions. At this point, you will require professional intervention to prevent permanent tooth loss and other significant health problems.
As if this isn’t bad enough, periodontitis also erodes your gum’s ability to protect your body from potentially harmful bacteria that could enter through your mouth. When these bacteria bypasses the barrier that is usually imposed by healthy gums, they can enter your bloodstream, spreading to other parts of your body and causing inflammation or even triggering the development or aggravation of systematic health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, or risk of stroke.
By adding interdental cleaning to your larger oral health care routine, you can ensure that irritants like plaque and food debris don’t rub up against your gums for long periods of time. This will help prevent gingival swelling and substantially lower your risk of gum disease over time - and when your gums are healthy, they help you prevent a whole host of other health complications, as well.
Which method of interdental cleaning should I use?
Both of the popular approaches to interdental cleaning have their pros and cons. Which is right for you will ultimately depend on your personal preference.
Remember: if you want your interdental cleaning to effectively preserve your tooth and gum health and prevent plaque accumulation and disease, it’s not enough to do it once or even “every now and then”; you’ll need to make it a regular (preferably daily) part of your oral health routine.
As you evaluate these pros and cons, therefore, consider which interdental cleaning method you think will be easiest to incorporate into your oral health routine. For best results, learn to practice this technique effectively and then do so regularly.
Pros of flossing
- Clean between tightly spaced teeth: Floss can be used in extremely tight interdental spaces that are not reachable for interdental brushes.
- Remove plaque: Flossing helps get rid of plaque and its bacteria that form between your teeth by gliding smoothly between teeth.
- Eliminate food remnants: Flossing clears the spaces between your teeth of food, which can fester and provide harmful bacteria with the nutrition they need to grow.
- Prevent cavities: Flossing helps prevent the formation of cavities – tiny holes in the enamel of your teeth – by removing plaque particularly in areas your toothbrush can’t reach.
- Keep away gingivitis: Flossing helps prevent gingivitis, which is the early stage of gum disease.
