To be depressed by flossing

[Flossless]

Hygenist visit yesterday, once again told my flossing is not good enough and warned of severe consequences of not doing it right. Once again a schedule set for what I should be doing and how. Today I'm depressed, I know that there is zero chance I can comply with these instructions, and it's not because I'm feckless. I could spend half-an-hour a day attempting to floss my teeth, and would still not have done half the job I'm being told to do, because it's impossible.

The problems are: -

1. about a quarter of the gaps towards the back, I can't see what I'm doing, cannot consistently even find (by feeling my way) the gaps I'm supposed to be inserting floss into, cannot keep track of which ones I have and haven't done, if I manage to do anything at all, which I mostly don't.
2. the majority of gaps in my mouth, the teeth are touching each other, it's very difficult and sometimes impossible to squeeze floss between the teeth, I have to apply huge force to get floss in, the times I manage it at all, and then it's so difficult to get the floss back out that if feels like I'm going to rip out my teeth and fillings, and the floss gets shredded on the way out
3. as a consequence of 2, I have to wind new lengths of floss around my fingers several times during a session, and that's for a session in which I probably give up having got floss into fewer than half the gaps
4. I cannot keep track of the gaps I've flossed by moving from one gap to the adjacent one, because of the need to wind a new bit of floss round my fingers after virtually every gap I do manage to floss.

I do use a water pick, which is 90% effective, but hygenist says it's not good enough.

Interdental brushes are not much use, I don't think, as they only replicate what the water pick does reasonably well. I think they only clean between teeth, they don't go down the sides of teeth, under the gum.

I've tried the little holders with floss on, the floss was the wrong kind, too thick to fit through gaps. If I could get it in, because the floss is round rather than flat, the surface area is too small to clean the teeth efficiently. They come with a toothpick at the opposite end whose only function seems to be to stab holes in my cheek or tongue when I'm using the flossing end.

When I complained about floss issues, a dentist suggested using interdental brushes, when I pointed out that I couldn't get the brush into some gaps and other gaps were so big the brushes didn't touch the sides, he explained in all seriousness that I should have several sizes of brushes and a personally customised wall chart map of to remind me which size to use for each of the circa 30 gaps between my teeth. Even if that is a thing that people do, and he said it was, I don't see how this works, as I can't see how I would reliably map chart instructions to actual gaps.

If I try to explain the issues, I just sound like a feckless person making excuses. Also, I tend not to remember the issues in detail, because they occurred months earlier, after my previous visit, after which I gave up and returned to only using water pick.

I've found some new floss holders, that use the best kind of floss for me, PTFE flat tape. I put the likelihood that these will produce satisfactory results at about 5%. No doubt they will work in some gaps, but not all. As I can't memorise a mental map of which of 30 gaps are worth even attemping to clean, I will spend inordinate amounts of time trying impossible gaps every day, before I give up on trying to use them.

Thing about flossing no one tells you:

1. To do it properly you need to be able to dislocate your jaw
2. It's gross. Dribble runs down your hand into your sleeve.

Flossing sucks.

I honestly agree it's the luck of the draw.

I've not had a single filling in my adult life and just use those flossing harps and mouthwash. Sometimes I don't even floss all the gaps (although usually do).

Tepes (brand of interdental brush) are best imo. Yes they clean between teeth and you need to find one which fits snugly (they come in multiple colours/sizes) so they improve your gum health. They are better than water flossers. For teeth which can’t fit any tepes, try a water flosser (waterpik is the brand i’m aware of) and/or floss.

tepes are superior to waterpiks and floss, but anything is better than nothing. If you have larger gaps, floss will be doing very little for your gum health. Needs to be done consistently once per day - bacteria builds up quickly within 24 hours and it’s especially important to use tepes (where possible) if you have the beginning of or established gum disease, as the pocket between gum and tooth will be deeper, and so the bristles of the tepe will be most helpful in clearing these pockets out.

The more you do it, the easier it gets and the quicker it will be to do in the end. Its a bit of a pain getting the hang of it but i would rather that than have to experience the potential pain and problems which come with advanced gum disease.

also switch to an electric toothbrush - it does all the work for you! Good luck

I find it depressing because I need to look in the mirror to do it, and my face grimaces so that expression lines I normally don't see/have are suddenly there, in my face so to speak, meanwhile saliva is running onto my hand.

Am encouraged to do it, though, after seeing one of my friends slowly lose her front teeth through untreated gum disease. I think the point of flossing apart from oral hygiene is to prevent gum disease, moreso than cavities, and often people aren't aware they have gum disease.

I’m still curious about this. Our dentists and hygienist are seen in the same appointment. You typically see the hygienist first, then the dentist comes in for the exam. Both on a twice yearly schedule. If you need work done then it’s a stand alone appointment. I guess theoretically you could just book the cleaning.

Like I said I go to a tiny practice, 1 dentist and 1 asst. she used to have a hygienist, but I think she’s slowly retiring so has downsized quite a bit over the years. She’s also doing the receptionist and billing job now.

This flosser has revolutionised my flossing. The design means I can get to my back teeth easily without jamming my whole hand in my mouth and the thin but strong floss manages to get in between my very tightly crowded teeth. It's been a game changer!

I feel bad about the plastic involved but I figure it's probably less than with the individual harps, so I've somewhat made my peace with it.

The thing is dental professionals have no way to gauge the patient's level of understanding and knowledge, so they need to get down to basics for everything or they risk the patient not understanding something.

Part of the "service" is also giving appropriate clinical instructions and advice, including warning the patient of the consequences of not following that advice. This is part of their professional duty of care.

If we just said "oh it's fine, don't worry, your gums are perfect" we'd be doing the patient a disservice.

A dentist just can't win...!

This...... and gag. I sometimes retch so badly that I have to stop. I have a small mouth, and it was impossible to get my fingers in at the back, so I moved to the horseshoe shaped tape things, and those are better, but even then, doing the back teeth is a struggle. I have also seriously hurt my jaw in the past, you know, when it goes out of joint, and you panic, and think it won't go back in, and then clicks for hours?

Just me??

Just a funny addendum..... I took my cat to the vets the other day for his vaccinations. Apparently he also needs annual dental hygienist at £150. I have moved vets.

I don't floss. I don't think I know anyone who flosses apart from my boss and a handful of people at work. (Recently had a conversation at work after someone come back from the dentist) My dentist has never once mentioned it to me either.

@Flossless I have a Nevadent electric flosser (Lidl or ebay) and use it with toothpaste. The stick is tapered so I can use it for most of my teeth, and use tape for the others.
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N2RQKPD

I always think the hygienist doesn’t believe me when they ask what the regime is. I use interdental brushes, an edge brush and an electric toothbrush. It’s never good enough and it feels as if they think I’m lying. My teeth have always been problematic, despite always going to the dentist and hygienist every six months.

DH has had exactly the same conversation this morning with his hygienist.

Had to go for a check up recently and I have a love-hate relationship with my dentist. I never look forward seeing them even though they're nice enough. So you have my sympathies everyone who detests going!

I’m just struggling to understand why you feel you need a map to ‘remember where you’ve flossed.’ Surely you brush your teeth and manage to brush all around your mouth without a map? Just start at the back on top and work your way forward, then same in the bottom. I don’t know if I’ve misunderstood but I can’t see what’s a big struggle about that.

As others have said, if flossing causes your gums to bleed then you NEED to floss more. It means your gums are already showing signs of disease and inflammation due to bacteria.

I thought this was load of rubbish too, last year I flossed maybe a couple of times a month, and always gave up because my whole mouth would bleed badly.
A year ago I decided to floss every day despite the bleeding, invested in an electric toothbrush with a timer and have been diligent, even though I have literally no gaps between my teeth.
I found a floss that works for me without shredding (try a waxed one).

By the end of the first week the bleeding had slowed dramatically, and by week two the bleeding was GONE.
Your gums will toughen up and start to heal because you are removing the bacteria under the gum line and between your teeth.

Seriously, if you don't think you need to floss, try doing it only once and then SMELL the floss. This should give you an idea of what is lurking between your teeth.
Don't be put off by blood - if you see blood you NEED to floss and brush more.

Toothbrush with a timer is great too, 2 minutes twice a day. No excuses.

I’ve flossed once a day for years, just timed and it takes me a couple seconds under 4 minutes. I have some very tight sections.
Top teeth I do middle to each side
Bottom I start at the back and go the whole way round. Just attempt each tooth so you don’t lose track.
I had 3 floss changes but I wind a lot around my fingers at a time and at each tooth just move it along a little for a fresh section.

It does get easier, like anything body wise it can be fiddly initially- learning to use tampons, contact lenses, moon cups whatever. Just keep having a go.

I do not bleed with flossing. I just can't do it. There are no gaps. It takes about 3 minutes to force a floss in and just as long to get it out. I don't floss.

There's a lot of shite on here about flossing to be honest, and it's the one personal hygiene task people really hate to do

I've never found a gap I couldn't floss. Teeth are meant to touch and they aren't held solidly in bone. Its normal to not have gaps. You can get floss harps with tape if you find that's easiest, I like silicone interdental brushes and use both each day. It takes time to develop the dexterity. Flossing is a (basic) skill and you cant expect to find it easy over night.

Essentially it's your body and your choice. As long as you know the risks of not flossing it's up to you whether you want to do it. If your gums bleed, you have gum disease. Your breath will probably be less than fresh. But neither of these are life or death.

Many people do follow a mouth map, and this is probably optimal. But you don't have to, it depends how much you care about keeping your mouth clean or developing gum disease, and how willing you are to take the risk.

I have overcrowded teeth too and flossing is a pain in the arse. But I think half of your problem is using floss wound around your fingers. It’s so fiddly and difficult when your teeth are tight. I can only use floss on sticks. You can get them with a thin strip of floss.

Also a waterpik isn't hideous. It's not been around long enough to assess the full effectiveness but it's obviously a lot better than doing nothing.

Is it as effective as proper floss? Probably not. But if you are going to use it daily and not floss then the waterpik is better

There is a good American dental hygienist on YouTube that has some very good tips on how to floss effectively. She recommends traditional floss over the "harp" style plastic things, because you should be curving the floss around each tooth in a "C" shape (rather than sawing back and forth or up and down) and you can't do this with the rigid plastic things, but yes, they are better than doing nothing at all. Likewise water piks etc.

My dentist told me that after flossing in each gap, to pull the floss out from the side instead of pulling it back out the way you got it in. She said it's advised as prevents the pressure pulling on the teeth to remove it.

This might help with your points 2 and 3 and make it a lot easier for you.

I wish I could just give my teeth a quick clean and then everything is OK (like Dh and DSis) but I can't. I use a mixture of tepes, floss and a new brand called a Pikster because I have a gap that is an inbetween size for the tepe.
It doesn't take long to know which tepe cleans which gap and I don't get any bleeding now although I'm not sure if the pikster is working well as it's a new try out. Like everything, it's just practice.
The time it takes is a pain but no worse than the time involved with other medical issues such as type 1 diabetes. Plus I remind myself that I am lucky to live in a time and place where floss and tepes exist. Perhaps if they and electric toothbrushes existed when I was much younger I wouldn't be in the position I am in now.

I thought flossing was just something everyone lied to their dentist about doing

Yes, I am always amazed at the poor flossing techniques shown on American TV shows and movies, which involves rigorously sawing back and forth! Until recently, I thought all Americans flossed daily, so I couldn't figure it out. Then I read the other day that a 2017 study showed only 16% of Americans floss daily.