Flossing and gum disease

[nutcackle]

My fear of gum disease has reared it's ugly head again and i'm convinced that every little twinge in my mouth means all my teeth are going to fall out.

I am overdue a visit to the dentist, naughty I know but i'm on to it.

Anyway, my friend said that I should be flossing to help keep gum disease away, is that right ??

I haven't a clue how to floss, do you have to be shown ?

YOu can buy little plastic sticks with a short length of floss at the end which make it a lot easier to do, nutty - the "forks" referred to here . It can make your gums bleed a lot and feel much more sensitive for the first few days you do it but is worth it.

NC it's easiest if shown, it's remembering to do it that's my downfall. Your dentist will show you if you ask (or even if you don't in my case!) I suppose in quick terms I'd say you get a bit of floss (4 or 5 inches?) and have around an inch or so exposed between your hands and you go from tooth to tooth putting the floss up the middle and following the tooth to below the gumline. So in between each tooth you will go up and to the left, then up and to the right. You'll need to use a new section of the floss tape every few teeth or so, of if any bits come out (TMI) I don't know if that makes any sense to you - maybe google it and see if there's an illustration somewhere?!!

Thanks Jan, will look out for those.

Also mouthwash, is there any in particular one thats better than another ???

Thanks Racers. Have a feeling my mom flosses as she also has a fear of losing her teeth (lol what a weird lot we are). I'll have to ask her for a demo.

I use the 'fork' things, they are really easy to use.

My dentist says a non alcohol based one.

So when do they "dentists that is" recommend that children start?

These are my favourites. My teeth are so close together that I can't get floss, even the tape stuff, to slip through to the gap. So these brushes have changed my life. AFAIK they have the widest range of sizes.

Dentists in UK don't seem to worry about flossing with kids but my cousin's children aged 8 and 6 floss as part of their dental routine each am and pm.

Cousin's family from Canada BTW

My dentist recommends flossing for children, Sue. ...or maybe that should be