To ask whether you floss your teeth?

[Honeymint]

I just wanted to try a poll really.

Choose
YABU if you floss less than three times a week
YANBU if you floss more than three times a week

I used to floss (almost) every day but it was the first thing to go when I got pregnant as it made me feel so sick.
I mentioned this to a group of friends and none of them floss but they all seem to have perfect teeth anyway.
So I was wondering how common it actually is.

Do you guys floss your teeth? How often etc.

@milkyaqua

2, 3, 4...8! are measurements of gum pockets.

Do you mean how many millimetres deep a gum pocket is? That isn't what I meant when I mentioned about scores between 0 - 4, I meant the BPE score, 4 is the maximum on that?

I still don't see how a gum pocket can heal, if gums don't grow back.

I don't know what you're finding so hard to grasp. From your previous post:

When you are next at the dentist, listen out for what they say when they are checking your gums. They will say a number between 0 - 4, something like "1s on the top, and 2s on the bottom". Which is what I heard my NHS dentist say at my last appointment. After she had examine me, I told her I was worried about possibly starting to get gum disease because I sometimes bled after I brush my teeth, she told me not to worry about it. But she had just scored my bottom teeth as "2s", meaning that I was actually starting to get gum disease! I think she is just that busy with NHS patients that she can't be bothered.

Gum disease is reversible up to a point, but once you score a 3 or a 4 it's irreversible. I started flossing and switched to a private dentist, £12 a month, but well worth it to keep my teeth!

The instrument is poked into the gums, and a score achieved, as per your post. It is a record of the depth of each individual gum pocket.

A gum pocket is usually due to inflammation, is full of bacteria, may be full of plaque, and can be scraped out, cleaned, and sterilised and kept clean, and then reduce back to a normal depth. God willing.

I think you have misinterpeted the probing score for a BPE score. Hency why she was not unduly concerned at a 2.

I still don't see how a gum pocket can heal, if gums don't grow back.

Once, again. The recession (rising up on the tooth) of gums does not grow back; their are surgical options apparently to repair these.

And, again! Gum pockets can be healed.

I floss every morning, sometimes in the afternoon, and the amount of muck that comes out is amazing at times.
I feel icky if I don't.
However is there an eco friendly alternative to plastic floss?

I had gum pockets of 3 which I got back down to zero when I started being a bit more diligent with the floss and tepe sticks so yes pockets heal! I think it would be a lot harder though if they were really deep pockets and the infection had got into the bone. I think it’s a hospital job then and your teeth can look massive afterwards because the gum shrinks right back.

@milkyaqua

I don't know what you're finding so hard to grasp.

Lol. Do you work in the dental field? Are you that rude to patients at work, who, unlike you, are not trained in dentistry? I'm finding it hard to grasp because it's something that I don't know anything about, apart from Google. So yes, I find it hard to understand how any damage to gums heal, if they can't grow back.

I think you have misinterpeted the probing score for a BPE score. Hency why she was not unduly concerned at a 2.

I asked my friend who is a dental nurse what that 1s and 2s mean. She said BPE scores, didn't mention about pockets. Hard to know what my old dentist meant, as she explained nothing to me and just told me not to worry when I said I was worried about gum disease because of spitting blood. She said I could use a bit of mouthwash after lunch if I was concerned about it. Didn't mention flossing.

I am not a dentist. But it is rather frustrating to keep finding different ways to explain the same simple concept over and over to someone who refuses to believe it!

When a dentist calls out numbers for every tooth, which are noted on one's chart that visit, they are calling out probe depths.

The BPE score is not for individual teeth, but an overall rating.

I will just try saying this one more time: gum recession is pretty well permanent - hence the phrase long in the tooth.

Gum pockets are reversible. They are indicators of gingivitis, which is an early form of gum disease, or the more severe form of gum disease, periodontitis. Gingivitis can be reversed with dental hygiene like flossing, etc etc. (When it advances to periodontitis it is much harder to reverse, and unattended may eventually lead to bone loss and then teeth falling out. But periodontists and dental hygienist can and do treat it! The pocket size reduces, the probe score returns to a normal range.)

Bleeding when you brush is one indicator of gingivitis. But it can also be caused by overzealous brushing, hard brushes, or bad technique.

www.peacewiththewild.co.uk/product-category/bathroom/dental-floss/ Shunter350 you can get bamboo or corn starch dental floss. I use one from my local equivalent of Boots, but I'm abroad - lots of options online (haven't used the site in the link, I just put 'plastic free dental floss ' into the search engine).

@RagzRebooted you can get bamboo floss picks and interdental brushes these days! So many more eco friendly dental products than 5 years ago :D

You can also get toothpaste tabs (no plastic packaging) with fluoride in these days so dental approved and eco friendly!

@milkyaqua

When a dentist calls out numbers for every tooth, which are noted on one's chart that visit, they are calling out probe depths.

The BPE score is not for individual teeth, but an overall rating.

These were the dentist's exact words to the dental nurse:
"1s on the top, 2s on the bottom"

She didn't call out a different number for each tooth, just "1s on the top, 2s on the bottom". Which my dental nurse friend said were BPE scores (and that it was time for me to start flossing!).

Don't worry about trying to explain anything further to me

Whatever.

Live in delusion.

Perhaps what I have posted is helpful for someone else who sees no value in flossing.

Not sure what I'm living in delusion about

To recap:
I have started flossing. My gums stopped bleeding shortly after. Flossing is worthwhile. I never said it was not.

Good for you. Clearly, not a BPE of 2. [insert snide crying laughing face here]

Thanks

Every single day..

@ThatsNotItAtAll

www.peacewiththewild.co.uk/product-category/bathroom/dental-floss/ Shunter350 you can get bamboo or corn starch dental floss. I use one from my local equivalent of Boots, but I'm abroad - lots of options online (haven't used the site in the link, I just put 'plastic free dental floss ' into the search engine).

Thank you.

I floss, few times a week generally

YANBU floss every day

I've just had 3 days away where I forgot to pack my floss. I flossed when I got home and bleugh the smell from my back teeth was rank. Just reminds me why I floss every day.

Every night before bed. My mouth doesn't feel clean otherwise.

my teeth are too close together, can't get floss through.
use those rubber interdental brushes a couple of times a week if I remember

YES or your breath stinks. I have a water pic, floss and sticks.

In the US many years ago, the association of dentistry had a slogan that has stuck with me over the years: Ignore your teeth and they'll go away...

Even both invisalign I flossed at least 5 nights a week. Now it's a couple of times a day! I saw the hygienist last week and she was really pleased with my gums. A few years ago I didn't floss and the dentist said I was starting to get gum disease.