4 ms·
Personally I'm not a fan of flossing. Always seems to make my gums bleed. I much prefer using a waterpick it's gentler and seems more effective too.
by Lio 8y ago
Personally I'm not a fan of flossing. Always seems to make my gums bleed. I much prefer using a waterpick it's gentler and seems more effective too.
- jerf 8y agoIf flossing makes your gums bleed, you're not flossing enough. No, this is not a "No True Scotsman" sort of argument or some sort of sarcastic joke; that's really what it means. It should stop bleeding in just a couple of days of regular flossing. If it doesn't, your mouth may be indicating another problem.
- Someone1234 8y agoThat was my experience too. When I first started flossing I'd get some bleeding (in no small part because my lack of flossing before caused the gum at the bottom of the tooth to be inflamed). Bleeding is very infrequent now. I personally use those plastic flosser sticks. I cannot figure out just the string. But I floss once a day every day and have for years. Just remember to floss each tooth twice in a V shape. You need to do both sides of the tooth and the bottom.
- astura 8y agoEither not flossing enough or using bad technique. I'm not a big flosser, so my gums always bleed a bit when I do it myself, but my dental hygienist always flosses me after a cleaning and she never makes the gums bleed.
- Lio 8y agoSorry but I'm not going to start flossing when I can use a Waterpik instead. There's just no need for it.
- kevingadd 8y agoDepending on your genetics and general dental health, yeah, flossing isn't always required. Not saying "don't floss" but I made other changes to my dental habits (how i brush, etc) and rarely need to floss - dentist says everything's fine. Obviously though if your dentist is saying 'floss more', then floss more. There are also little dental picks you can get that you can use to clean between teeth without flossing, though I find them hard to use. If you're having trouble with regular flossing definitely ask your dentist for alternatives.
- Lio 8y agoI have an alternative, as mentioned in the comment. I use a Waterpik. It's gentler than sticking a piece of plastic string between your teeth and more effective at getting trapped material and plaque out.
- e40 8y agoEither you are flossing wrong or you haven't gotten over the hump or you have gum disease. I'd talk with your dentist. Having said that, I love my waterpik. When I floss and rinse, it still flushes things from between my teeth that flossing couldn't get rid of. I highly recommend both!
- mc32 8y agoAlso about a third of the brands of tooth floss use potentially carcinogenic PFAS (Teflon like substance).
- hammock 8y agoGood grief I had not seen that news. They literally put that crap everywhere. Thanks for the heads up.
- wpasc 8y agoI also had seen this, have you found any good substitutes that provide a non awful experience? I tried Tom's floss as a replacement but it was very thick and non a good substitute.
- snark42 8y agoI've enjoyed Radius Silk Floss (https://madebyradius.com/collections/all/products/natural-biodegradable-silk-floss https://madebyradius.com/collections/all/products/natural-bi...) but I haven't tried Tom's so I can't really compare.
- mc32 8y agoI’m using Dr Tung’s which uses bee’s and other vegetable oil derived waxes. The flavoring is also naturally derived. It’s not as smooth as others (but smoothness = less effective at removing plaque), so it may take some getting used to (esp if the tooth gaps are small).
- abawany 8y agoA mouthwash with cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) might help with gum health. Crest makes a version with CPC and Hydrogen Peroxide that was recommended by a dentist at one point. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cetylpyridinium_chloride https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cetylpyridinium_chloride Edits: spelling + link.
- dsego 8y agoI've had good results with chlorhexidine moutwash and toothpaste (curasept).