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So I got some floss last night and tried it (yay no longer a floss virgin) but it kept breaking and not sure I was doing it right. I will keep trying and hopefully I will get the hang of it.
I am going to blame the fact I have never tried it on being English because everyone knows we have bad teeth/ don't look after our teeth haha
Next time you go to your dentist or ortho ask them for a lesson on flossing. That would really help.
Just keep working at it, you'll get better and it'll start to become a normal part of your routine.
29 years old
2-18-10 baby canine pulled
3-15-10 got braces
12-22-11 Moving-SO EXCITED!!
1-2-12 Meet new Ortho
1-5-12 Begin finishing treatment
3-5-12 Canine Implants...dun dun dunnnnn
4-9-12 Deband!
I had braces for Two Years and TwentyFive Days
It is hard at first, but once you get into the habit, you can start doing it without looking in the mirror (a talent I am particularly proud of). In my experience, they will bleed for quite a while.
It's interesting that you weren't taught to floss. I sometimes chose not to floss before I had braces but I was exposed to lessons in elementary school. In 3rd grade, a dentist came to our class to teach us about our teeth and that some of us may have braces soon (I remember that he brought it a model with the brackets attached and I remember thinking, oh no, that will not be me!). A hygienist came the next week to teach us about flossing and brushing. We were given our own toothbrush, toothpaste, and container for school and brushed religiously after lunch and snack. and EVERY time I had a teeth cleaning. In fact, I remember at my last cleaning one of the charges was 'oral hygiene instruction'. (The cost was $0.00 by the way). I wonder if this fixation on oral hygiene is just an American thing, or if other countries are as meticulous (or OCD) as we are.
If your floss keeps breaking, try Crest Glide Threader Floss. They come in boxes of 30 individually-wrapped flosses, with one end of it being stiffer than the regular floss (kinda like a shoelace), so you can thread it super-easy under your wires and through your teeth. My teeth shred regular floss like crazy, but the Glide ones are more like dental "tape", and slide between teeth much easier.
Flossing on my left hand side lower bottom teeth was find, upper teeth is impossible, my right hand side is even worst, its a struggle to do the full set. Every night I am so far spending 20+ mins on flossing alone. Investing in a wide range of different floss at the moment.
Talulah wrote:What bugs me is that I haven't been told how to best take care of my teeth now that they are braced. My dentist told me yesterday to make sure and keep clean, and that *perhaps* I could get an appointment with one of his assistants to be taught how to clean properly..
I do the best I can, but on days like today when I'm really hurting I am very unwilling to floss! Can't be much to floss anyways since I don't plan on eating that much solids.
As sad as it sounds, I wasn't taught how to floss properly until I was 32! I just finally asked when the assistant told me that she wanted me to "floss really well". I swallowed my pride and said "Show me exactly how you want me to do it." My periodontal problems went away within 3 months.
I couldn't ever thank her enough.
2 Years 4 months 3 weeks and 4 days in full metal braces!
Flossing is a real pain with braces, but it's true, you really have to look after your gums. When I initially went for a consultation with my ortho, he wouldn't treat me until I'd spent some time working on my gum health - they weren't that bad, actually, according to my regular dentist, but the way the ortho explained it, having braces makes your gum health go downhill really fast. Because the gum tissue supports the bone, diseased gums lead to tooth loss.
I am shocked that some people are not getting good support from their dentists/orthodontists in this area, given how important it is - particularly for people who have braces.
One thing that really helped me to improve my gums was using an interdental brush with a little bit of toothpaste to clean the gaps between my teeth. It sorted out my problem areas and my ortho commented on how much improvement I'd made in a short time. I do use floss, but also brush between my teeth in this way every day. So far, so good - my gums never bleed and it is far easier and quicker than threading floss under wires.
My Ortho never even mentioned flossing as part of the talk on how to clean your teeth with braces. He just told me to brush for 5 mins and use an interdental brush.
Is it normal for the gums to bleed when you floss? Is this something that gets better the more you floss? My gums are a little sore between the teeth but I am probably doing it wrong..
Also I was flossing between my front top teeth and now have a little gap between them at the top. Was this always there but it was full of plaque or something or have I created this by flossing? eek!
I am definately going to ask for a lesson on flossing at my next appointment- its a shame its 10weeks away though..
Thanks Catgyrl- I will try this floss you recomend
Also Macgirl4ever- I really do think it is an American thing. Since reading about flossing on here I asked around my friends/ family and none of them floss. I'm sure a lot of English people do but I definately was not told about flossing at school or at the dentist and I have regularly gone to the dentist since I was a child. Given nearly all Americans have lovely teeth, I am definately going to get on board with this. Haha
The fact that your gums are bleeding when you floss is a sign that you absolutely have to start flossing regularly. Healthy gums do not bleed when you floss. Bleeding gums is common when brushing or flossing in those that have gingivitis. However, it can be reversed. Get a professional cleaning if you haven't had one recently. Keep on flossing everyday(and make sure you are flossing properly and getting up under the gum line) and this will nurse your gums back to health.
I'm from the UK and my orthodontist or dentist never even mentioned flossing to me when i got my braces..i have them for about six months now and never flossed because i didnt know how important it was!
I currently don't have braces right now but in the past I have had them and all I can say is that flossing is a critical step to keeping great oral hygiene. I will be getting re-braced for a relapse case but I will continue my flossing. I Currently floss two times a day and well even with that I don't think flossing can be a stop to having to go to the dentist.
I Would recommend regular oral hygiene of flossing twice a day, brushing 3 times a day, use mouth wash probably onces or twice a day and get a routine cleaning every 4-6 months.
Adjustment Sept 14th, 2018
Braces back on August 06, 2018
Braces off April 02, 2008
I never tried flossing until a year or so ago when I was referred to a dental hygienist by my regular dentist. She told me how to brush my teeth properly, and told me how important it was to floss and how to do it. I tried it a couple of times but then got bored. It was so time consuming and my heart wasn't in it. I could barely persuade myself to brush my teeth more than once a day as it was.
Earlier this year I decided to dedicate as much time as it takes to improve my dental health. Invisalign being the starting point of this, and all that goes with it. When my Invisalign went on 3 weeks ago, I started brushing after every meal and flossing once a day - I thought that would be enough. After a couple of days of seeing just how much stuff came out on the dental floss each time (even if I flossed AFTER brushing), I was horrified. Now I floss after every meal without fail.
Its hard to say after only 3 weeks, but I think I see my gums turning a much nicer pink colour. Still got lots of red patches but I swear they are reducing. I've just requested my 'before' photos from the dentist so I can get a good comparison.
Floss people. If you aren't convinced of the benifits, I recommend attempting to floss immediately after you've brushed one day and taking note of what comes off.
