Flossing.

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So I’ll admit in the past I didn’t look after my teeth well, due to depression. So Ive ended up with gingervitis and awful plaque.

I went to the hygienist today and they removed it all out of my teeth. She also gave me some floss and the smallest interdental sticks going as my teeth have the tiniest gaps ever, but I’m massively struggling to floss the back ones and I’m worried if I don’t get to those im going to have gum disease forever and I really don’t want to go to the hygienist again as it killed me and my sensitive teeth are killing me now.

What else can I do to keep them clean especially the back ones where I just can’t reach.

I have the biggest fear of dentists, and my pain threshold is bad at the best of times, so having this done today has scared me, I really don’t fancy having it done again!

Did you have a root clean? Cause they do hurt. My dentist understands my fear and pain and will happily numb the area for me.

Buy a water flosser. They are easy to use and great at getting all sizes of gaps.

Plackers Gentleslide for tight teeth are easy to use and as your cleaning regimen toughens up your gums you can slide them under your gum line deep into the pocket. I was in your position two years ago and managed a huge improvement with Corsodyl toothpaste followed by a Philips air flosser filled with Colgate Peroxyl and final floss using these. I see the hygienist every four months and now I don’t even have bleeding at this visit.

Try flosser sticks, I find them much easier to use than regular floss, particularly at the back of your mouth, and they've never hurt when I've used them. I second @Kelsoooo- it does sound like you've had a root clean and flossing shouldn't hurt like that. These ones are good:
www.boots.com/boots-expert-extra-strong-flossers-10161453

I really struggle to floss. The smallest brushes just don't work, so I bought a water flosser. Can be a bit of a faff, but my dentist put the fear of God into me, so it's what I do.

I second a water flossed, brilliant. Beware removing it from your mouth, otherwise you’ll get a blast of cold water!

Another yes to a water flosser. I have a couple of dodgy gum pockets and using the flosser has really improved my gums

YY to water flosser. I have to use lukewarm water as my teeth are so sensitive. But I totally love it and really rate it.

I prefer the dental tape and DH likes a water flosser.

There's a few options so thing to do is try them all.

Ooh any recommendations for a water flosser please?

Another option for you

Piksters

I struggled to reach the back ones so searched for something with a longer handle.

I've got the Waterpik water flosser. It's good - a bit noisy and takes practice to control it. As pp said it is easy to get soaked!

DH has this smaller one here. He likes it.

I use the rechargeable waterpik

I have a water flosser and tight gaps/crocked teeth. Hygenist told me a physical action is preferable to the water floss, she didn't seem to rate them but agreed it's better than nothing. She gave me some of those little brushes but the environmental impact of disposal plastic put me off. I bought some traditional but eco floss (vegan wax, cardboard packaging) but found it gets stuck in my right gaps and then snaps. I think I'll just stick with the water flosser!

Water flosser seems to be good for bigger bits of gunk in my experience. To really get the fine gunk out you need to physically floss. Just practice a bit and you'll reach the back I promise. The interdental sticks can also be bent at an angle to get to the back.

I bought a water flosser but I have receding gums which are very sensitive. The water flosser sent them mad!

Now i vary between ordinary floss and the dental picks. The best picks I found were ones with 2 lines of floss, can't seem to find them anywhere now though.

As well as flossing my dentist recommended sensodyne toothpaste and any mouthwash for sensitive gums. At the moment I'm using gengigel which I really like, it doesn't sting and does leave my mouth feeling fresh for hours.

My teeth are very tight together so those interdental brushes are useless.

@sausagepastapot

YY to water flosser. I have to use lukewarm water as my teeth are so sensitive. But I totally love it and really rate it.

Second the warm water.

I love mine.

Hi everyone, thank you so much for all your suggestions 😊 I’ll be honest I’m not sure what I went for, I was told to just book a hygienist appt, where she used the water hose and scraped everything from my teeth. All I know is that nearly 24 hours later my gums and teeth are still hurting 😫

I’ve tried the interdental sticks, I have the smallest one and the smallest bottle brush one and they just don’t seem to want to go through all my teeth properly, and I cannot reach the back at all with those.
I’ve tried the floss picks and they kind of reach the back better, although I’m struggling to reach the wisdom teeth. Normal floss I can do the front teeth kind of okay, but when I try to pop it down it pops and catches my gum no matter how lightly I do it, I’m just scared I’m going to cause damage to my gums more as I’m not even sure I’m doing it right even after watching YouTube videos.

With the Flosser picks, do I use them for my whole mouth once, rinsing it in between, then throw it in the bin?
My hygienist said to use it more than once, but I don’t feel comfortable doing that, but it’s already started to wear after 1 days use.

Ooo I, I wouldn't use a stick more than once, am really surprised at that. I prefer using a reel of sensitive floss tbh (and less plastic waste). Have you tried using a relatively short piece of floss, trying a knot in it to make a small circle and just putting it under tension by looping round the index finger of each hand? That's how my dentist showed me and it's really easy to do all teeth that way (I've got close teeth and a small mouth).

You wash your toothbrush head many times so don’t be afraid to wash flossing gadgets many times too - throw when they physically break.

The pink flossing sticks can buckle very easily with the back teeth, I find. You might want to try the red sticks for back there as the wire is thicker and stronger, and withstands being pushed through at awkward angles.

Keep going though - I floss daily and at my recent appointment I scored zero for all my gums; ie. no bleeding. It’s completely worth it 😁

Dental tape although a flosser sounds good.

I also recommend Chlorhexidine mouthwash-great for gums but tastes foul! Use several times a day.

*water flosser

Superdrug had a deal on water flosser last week, i have tightly packed teeth so hope it helps

I buy GUM interdental soft picks (admittedly whenever I am in Target in the US, but I think you can get them from Amazon) - they're fab.

2 things to add; interdental brushes can come as an L shape angle (see here: www.dentaldirect.co.uk/tepe-angle-interdental-brush.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1q7l8o-46wIVVrTVCh3mVQpjEAQYAiABEgInQPD_BwE ) which is easier for back teeth than the straight shaped ones and using a SATEN TAPE floss is far nicer and more comfortable than regular floss www.dentaldirect.co.uk/oral-b-satin-tape-25m.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIi6mPoZC46wIVw-FRCh0Y9QTCEAQYBCABEgJwa_D_BwE . Waterpick is better than nothing but isn't as good as floss or interdental brushes.