Next to brushing your teeth twice a day and visiting the dentist every six months, flossing is one of the most important things you can do to keep your teeth healthy. Often, brushing is not enough to remove food from between your teeth. Flossing is helpful because it ensures that you clean all the tight, hard-to-reach spaces in between your teeth. At Lovett Dental Beaumont, we want to ensure that you are taking care of your oral health. When you take the time to floss, you get to enjoy the following benefits of flossing daily.
How To Get the Benefits of Flossing Daily
When you brush your teeth, the only areas you can clean are the fronts and backs of teeth. Since teeth fit so closely together inside your mouth, the only way to clean the sides is with floss. This is extremely important because it keeps plaque and bacteria from building up on the hidden areas of your teeth.
Flossing is also one of the easiest ways of removing bits of food stuck between teeth. Flossing can help remove tiny food particles that brushing may not remove. When you floss, you can help rid your teeth of bacteria the cause cavities. Once you get a cavity, you will need to see about getting dental fillings to help save the damaged tooth.
Improve Gum Health
A lot of people say they skip flossing because it makes their gums bleed. However, regularly flossing can strengthen gums and keep this from happening. Flossing is helpful because it slides along the gumline and removes bacteria that cause gingivitis and periodontitis.
Over time, flossing daily leads to reduced inflammation, so your gums are not so sensitive. Healthy gums are a key benefit of flossing because it is essential to overall oral health. If you skip flossing, you can experience severe tooth loss that requires you to seek out root planing, scaling, and other periodontal treatments.
Improve Cardiovascular Health
Research has shown that if you do not floss, you can develop heart problems. Many people do not know this fact. Multiple studies have found that those who have periodontal disease are more likely to have heart disease. Because there are blood vessels close to the surface of gum tissue, it is easy for oral bacteria to slip into the bloodstream if you have unhealthy gums. This bacteria can cause clotting and inflammation throughout important veins and arteries. This eventually leads to higher risks of heart attack and stroke.
If you want to improve your overall health and reduce your risk of developing other serious conditions, keep up with your oral health by brushing and flossing daily.
Other Health Benefits of Flossing Daily
Many of the health benefits of flossing come from its ability to prevent gingivitis and gum disease. Since gum disease can affect heart health, those who skip flossing can end up dealing with a variety of health problems. For example, studies have found that women who have gum disease may have trouble getting pregnant immediately. The women in the study showed that it took women with gum disease an extra two months to conceive. Furthermore, people who do not floss are more likely to end up dealing with joint pain as well because higher levels of inflammation can place stress on the body.
Besides brushing and flossing your teeth to keep oral health, you should regularly visit the dentist for a teeth cleaning. At Lovett Dental, we can provide you with regular dental cleanings and give you more information about the best flossing and brushing habits you can perform at home. If you are currently dealing with any oral health problems, we can assist you with fillings, braces, root canals, and a variety of other emergency dental services. Call Lovett Dental of Beaumont, TX, at 409-924-8100 to schedule your next appointment.