Metal Mouth Message Board

I have had my braces on a week. Finally, my mouth is beginning to feel less pain. I have lost four pounds.
I like how I am taking better care of my teeth with the water pic, brushing and all. But I am worried about flossing. It seems to be such a hassle. I was hoping the water pic would do the trick. No such luck said my ortho.
Great to be part of this world wide community.

Hi and welcome to the forum! Congrats on starting your braces journey too!

I've also read/been told that a waterpik shouldn't replace flossing. I hate flossing and I'm not even in braces yet, it's just a pain in the butt! It takes me quite a while for some reason... so I dread how much longer it will take once I am in braces. Maybe I should think myself lucky I will only have to get used to uppers first, rather than both straight away!

Flossing was such a pain at first, it would take me 30 minutes. Now I can do it almost as fast as I used to do without braces, and it feels so good when I'm done!

I know flossing is important, but nearly all of my friends had braces as teenagers and none of them flossed everyday and no one had problems when the braces were off. I think flossing takes forever and is so annoying. I WaterPik (which I like to think is good enough), use proxabrushes everyday, and only use floss if I feel like it. I know I should take better care of my teeth, but I never flossed much before I had braces and I never lost a tooth to decay or anything.

flossing is really tricky i find i cant get everywhere at different times. but clean as well as i can

I never flossed before braces (never had issues with cavities and I see a dentist every 6 months) and my ortho told me that I should get used to cleaning with braces on before I start flossing. I think she's trying to ease me into the whole process gently since I've never flossed before this. Is that alright?

juppiejux wrote:I never flossed before braces (never had issues with cavities and I see a dentist every 6 months) and my ortho told me that I should get used to cleaning with braces on before I start flossing. I think she's trying to ease me into the whole process gently since I've never flossed before this. Is that alright?

The thing is, flossing isn't only important to avoid cavities (between teeth), it also plays a big part in gum health. Without good gum health your teeth will suffer

Flossing removes the bacteria/food just below the gum line. If this bacteria is left to build up it causes your gums to become inflamed causing gingivitis, and your gums start to pull away from your teeth (receding gums)... if that's left untreated it can develop into gum disease, which leads to bone loss and possibly premature tooth loss. I am not trying to scare you, but flossing is very important.

I didn't start flossing daily until a couple of months ago... I did alot of research online and was scared into doing it. After reading about gum disease becoming a possibilty of being in my future if I contined to not floss... I got really worried. I never knew how important flossing was before this, as my Dentist never mentioned it!

Anyway, I recommend you start flossing. Apparently flossing is recommend when you are in braces (not only to look after your gums) to stop plaque building up between teeth which can hinder movement of the teeth (I read this on another thread on this forum).

Just because ones teeth/gums are fine now, doesn't mean they will always be and if they do go down hill in the future, lack of flossing could have been a cause of it.

The thing is, flossing isn't only important to avoid cavities (between teeth), it also plays a big part in gum health. Without good gum health your teeth will suffer

Flossing removes the bacteria/food just below the gum line. If this bacteria is left to build up it causes your gums to become inflamed causing gingivitis, and your gums start to pull away from your teeth (receding gums)... if that's left untreated it can develop into gum disease, which leads to bone loss and possibly premature tooth loss. I am not trying to scare you, but flossing is very important.

I didn't start flossing daily until a couple of months ago... I did alot of research online and was scared into doing it. After reading about gum disease becoming a possibilty of being in my future if I contined to not floss... I got really worried. I never knew how important flossing was before this, as my Dentist never mentioned it!

Anyway, I recommend you start flossing. Apparently flossing is recommend when you are in braces (not only to look after your gums) to stop plaque building up between teeth which can hinder movement of the teeth (I read this on another thread on this forum).

Just because ones teeth/gums are fine now, doesn't mean they will always be and if they do go down hill in the future, lack of flossing could have been a cause of it.

Thanks for the reply. Looks like I have to add something new to my cleaning routine. It's taking really long as it is but I'll have to learn to live with it and get used to it

I like to say, "Would you take a shower and only soap up one side of your body?" No. So why would one brush and not floss?

I was never big on the whole flossing thing before i got braced. However since i have been braced and i actually did some reading and research into how i could do everything in my power to look after my teeth i am now flossing daily. Sometimes (quite a lot of the time infact!) in can be a huge pain, especially with your teeth moving it makes some gaps really tight etc but for all the hassle it causes, it is definately worth it!