To think that people who don't floss are a bit gross

[Spikeythistle]

Ok so I admit I didn't used to floss but now I do everyday and I can't believe how much crap you can get out from between your teeth! The thought of that sitting there all day really grosses me out.
I recently went away for a couple of days and forgot to take any floss so when I got back and did floss I got loads of chunky bits of food out and they really stank just like bad breath. Bleurgh!!!

Everyone will end up with gum disease if they don't clean and floss twice a day.

When is that supposed to happen? End up when?
Everyone?

Where's the reference for that?

of course they will lweji, go ask your dentist

Snake poo smells absolutely vile. Really, it does!

My snakes poo smells like bad breath,
Surely that's a circular argument.

Anyway, I see. Interesting.

I'm never getting a snake, then. My cat's poo is bad enough.

My dentist has never mentioned flossing or oral hygiene at all.
They usually tell me to come by in a couple of years and the last time I went it was about 7 years ago. I had nothing wrong with my mouth and my previous visit had been more than 10 years earlier.

Most NHS dentists don't. You're lucky at the moment then Lweji.

I'm in my forties. Worst case, my gums will go the same way as my skin and sag.

I don't doubt that flossing is important for most people. Just not all.

Now is the time you need to do it if you want to keep your teeth until 60 lweji, you have been very lucky so don't knock it.

My dentist has never mentioned flossing or oral hygiene at all.

wow.

Lweji, I go to my dentist twice a year. the dental hygienist spends more
time with me than the dentist. Both of them talk to me about flossing/plaque etc. Most of our conversation about my teeth/mouth s about flossing and oral hygiene.

My teeth are fine despite some neglect (by US standards). I didn't grow up flossing. 2 out of my 3 children wouldn't dream of going to bed without flossing and brushing-it is the norm for them (the other one has some issues but still brushes/flosses fairly regularly.

I think the concern isn't just teeth. it is that any inflammation-including inflammation of the gums and overall health consequences. More and more diseases/whatever are now being attribute to inflammation.

HAS overall health consequences - not and

TePe brushes are the way to go. Get ones that are big enough for the gaps..often need to be surprisingly big.
I am converted to them by my dental hygienist.

My adult teeth didn't form properly. My childhood dentist, in his quite epic negligence, failed to notice this (plus my teeth grinding; mouth shape indicative of my rare disability that could have led to early diagnosis; & damage to one of my baby sister's teeth on the removal of her braces - despite her mentioning it & begging him to check because she was sure something was wrong leading to her needing ££££s of dental work as an adult). The special care dentistry team did build my teeth up after I was wrongly referred for wisdom tooth removal (no sign of wisdom teeth, it was incredibly severe TMJ syndrome) & also gave me my only filling - needed because my dentist kept insisting that the tooth I'd cracked having a seizure was Just Fine.

That dental work was done when I was in my mid-20s.

My current dentist can't quite get her head around the fact that my teeth are in such impeccable condition. But Just Brushing (as well as dietary stuff) managed to protect my teeth where negligent!dentist didn't.

I'd also like to see these statistics on how we're all definitely doomed to gum disease if we don't floss. As I said in my first post on this thread, I'm putting myself at risk if I do so...

Prevention is now the thing in most places and everyone that flosses etc. have the right idea.

I didn't know that when young and wish i did, anyone saying different is rather deluded.

Im 53 and wasn't accustomed to this as lweji isn't.

Boring I know, but here's my story:

As a kid the dentist just used to extract or fill. I also fell over on my front teeth and had a plate at the age of 16. I still wasn't advised about preventative measures. Had an abscess and in hospital for two weeks in my 20's - nearly died due to this.

A kind dentist decided that he would bridge my front teeth rather than me having to have a plate but warned me I had to religiously keep my mouth clean, floss and guard against gum disease or i would loose it.

That has lasted for 20 years due to my care and that wonderful dentist.

I have no idea why people on here are saying not to floss.

Lweji, you've only been to the dentist twice in the last 17 years how can you say your dentist never mentions flossing if your not there?
Worst case scenario is your bone levels will decrease eventually leading to loss of all your teeth, not some sagging gums.
Most people will get some level of gum disease if they don't floss (bleeding gums/swollen gums are already gum disease).Not everyone will get periodontitis but you don't know if your susceptible until you've already lost bone so its better to floss to prevent development of periodontitis. It normally becomes apparent in your 40s but can develop later

I floss every day as advised by my dentist. My mum got really bad gum disease and had to go to a dental specialist at a hospital to have it sorted. She now flosses and uses those little brushes and it has sorted it out. My teeth don't feel clean unless I have flossed.

I was interested by what Mrsmorton had to say, but I have a couple of places next to a crown where meat fibres can lodge, so I often floss after meals, using Y-shaped flossers (didn't learn to use the string) and automatically sweep round before toothbrushing.

AFAIK detritus doesn't stay long enough to start rotting.

Floss between teeth that are close together and use tepe brushes in other areas where the gaps are larger

Yup another non-flosser here. Never once have I been told off by my dentist. I go to the hygienist every 6 months. I do have a gap in my front teeth that has closed a fair bit due to pregnancy (weird, I know) I just use my toothbrush. A lot of stuff marketed to us as necessary is often not.

Flossing is not just about removing visible/large bits of food - it's also about agitating the plaque you can't see beneath the gumline to stop it building up and/or causing gum disease.

Obvs your genes & the natural health of your mouth will influence how prone you are to building up nasty stuff - the quality of your saliva reportedly has a big influence.

not a dentist

That's interesting what MrsMorton said. My hygienist said that if he had to chose between brushing or flossing he would always go for flossing!

My DP is a dentist and recommends flossing at least 4 times a week. He can tell if I haven't flossed and some evenings I am banished to the bathroom to get busy with the interdental tape before I am allowed a kiss.

My understanding is that flossing is less about removing visible food debris and more about disrupting the biofilm of bacteria and other mouthcrud between the teeth and under the gumline that causes periodontitis and gingivitis (gum disease). If your gums bleed when you floss, you have active gum disease and need to floss more. Good flossing technique actually goes beneath the gumline and fishes out the plaque that would lead the the hardened tartare that hurts to get removed when you have a scale and polish from the hygienist.

Happy to stand corrected though. I floss most days and alternate between tape floss, floss sticks and interdental brushes as they all seem to reach slightly different areas.

Guinevere, I am 1 month into religious interdental brushing and flossing due to gum disease. I am waiting for the result of an x Ray to assess bone loss. Like you I just didn't know how to manage it or even that you could and until my last check up no one mentioned it. I get virtually no blood now but some teeth are a bit loose. What kind of progress did you make early on?

MackerelOfFact, that's a mean DH you have. Both DH and I are dentists, I sometimes have a go at flossing, he never does, but he does brush his teeth 3 times a day.

Unfortunately when I was training 20 years ago the perio consultant said you only need to floss if you have a problem, and despite how dentistry has moved on it sticks in my head.

My parents have regular 3 monthly hygiene visits, get told to use interdental cleaning aids (tepes etc) but only brush their teeth in the morning. No point in flossing if you don't brush twice a day. The before bed one being the most important.

This thread is a revelation, I thought everybody flossed now! It definitely helped cure my gum disease.

I do think that stinky poo breath people have is caused by not flossing.