Flossing healthy gum may hurt if you use too much force, but they shouldn't bleed. If your gums are bleeding after flossing, you may not have been flossing well enough before. Certainly don't slam it down into your gums with all the force you can muster and then saw it back and forth like you are trying to extract teeth with dental floss, but still make sure you are thoroughly cleaning the little pocket just underneath the gumline. It doesn't take a lot of force, just some repeated passes all the way up, and then down until the floss stops. Repeat for each side of that particular gap, with the floss held in a "c" shape against the side of each tooth as you "wipe" with it. If you have bleeding due to gingivitis, a week or two of flossing will clear it right up.roxie2519 wrote:I also tried the Glide flosser, pretty cool..a bit too rough on my gums, you gotta be careful not to do it too strong, I cut my gum a little bit... Oh and never heard about this waterpick thing... I will google the reviews and maybe try it out.
If you avoid getting underneath your gumline because it bleeds, the gingivitis is not going to heal, and that leads to worse problems down the road.
If the bleeding continues after a couple of weeks, ask your ortho or general dentist to take a look.
The waterpik is cool and very useful for braces wearers, but despite their marketing materials, it isn't an actual flossing substitute, especially if you have crowding like most people in braces do.
