Let's get real -- How important is flossing with braces?

[braceace]

Okay, some may find this gross, but before braces I never flossed. It always hurt and made me bleed, so any time I tried to do it regularly I didn't stick with it, and pretty much just kept floss around for when food got stuck in my teeth. It's never seemed to be a problem as I went 10 years without seeing a dentist and didn't floss the whole time, and didn't have a single cavity the whole time.

Now that I have braces and am paying thousands of dollars for this treatment, I'm trying to do everything right, but flossing is an extra pain in the butt having to thread the floss between each bracket, and every time I pull the floss from between my teeth it pulls on my wire.

I told the orthodontist tech that I bought a water flosser, but she said that wouldn't be enough, and I that I needed to be flossing every day. But it takes like 30 minutes! So, I wanna know is flossing with braces really the dire importance that the tech made it out to be, or could I bring it down to like a couple of times a week and be fine. I eat mostly mush these days anyway, what really is there to get stuck in my teeth?

[wendydong]

i am in the exact same boat. I found waterpik to be sufficient. I particularly like the flossing tip of the waterpik. i stick the rubber soft flossing top of the waterpik between my back molars and it gets the junk out..

plus, i brush my teeth right after i eat. I brush with 2 different toothpaste, waterpik, then i use the fous fluer (flouride) mouthwash (anticavity) and then the aloe vera mouthwash for gum

And i get dental cleaning every 3 months.

my mouth feels clean

[assertives]

I'd say that flossing is absolutely necessary whether in braces or not. Flossing is not just for getting food stuck between the teeth out. It is also to remove plaque buildup. All of us have some amount of plaque in our mouths, and some people have more than others. Plaque build up at the gum line can cause inflammation, and gum disease and this is also why the gums bleed when flossing. Healthy gums are not supposed to bleed when flossing unless of course you accidentally cut your gums when trying to floss.

I remember not flossing a single day in my life prior to getting braces and also had the same problem with my gums bleeding and hurting. After getting braces, it seems to have activated a side of my ocd that I didn't know I had. Now I floss twice a day. In the beginning, I was also getting the floss caught and shredded on the brackets. Flossing after some of the adjustments hurt like hell too. Now that I've been in braces for 1.5 years, I've gotten quite quick at it. I no longer need to thread the floss into the threader, I just slip the floss under the wires directly and flossing only takes me a little over 5 mins to do and I do feel weird if I didn't floss.

But having said all of that, oral hygiene I feel, is a pretty personal thing. There are some people who don't brush their teeth daily and some just not enough even without braces. So I guess at the end of the day how important/necessary really depends on the individual's motivation and priorities. I previously heard an endodontist on youtube say this, "you don't have to floss all your teeth, you only need to floss the ones that you want to keep."

[Speck]

You guys/gals have it good! With Invisalign I floss and brush four to five times/day. Ugh. I still wonder if traditional braces might've been a better choice?

In any event, I suspect that flossing is fundamentally important in providing the best likelihood for keeping teeth and gums in healthy condition.

[wendydong]

I'd say that flossing is absolutely necessary whether in braces or not. Flossing is not just for getting food stuck between the teeth out. It is also to remove plaque buildup. All of us have some amount of plaque in our mouths, and some people have more than others. Plaque build up at the gum line can cause inflammation, and gum disease and this is also why the gums bleed when flossing. Healthy gums are not supposed to bleed when flossing unless of course you accidentally cut your gums when trying to floss.

doesn't waterpik also remove the plaque build up? i waterpik all over, especially along the gum line

[Mpkh]

doesn't waterpik also remove the plaque build up? i waterpik all over, especially along the gum line

Waterpik can’t remove the plaque between teeth and along the gum line as well as floss can, mostly because floss can get into those tight spaces much, much better than a waterpik can. Plus floss is better able to physically break apart the biofilm that forms in between teeth.

[assertives]

I think the jury is still out deciding which is more effective. Sure, there are studies out there that states the effectiveness of the waterflosser over thread flossing but personally, I do feel that floss can actually scrub the sides of the teeth and the sides below that is under the gums. While the waterpik just rinses that area. For the front where a floss cannot reach, I use a dental pick. I think waterflossers are a good supplement, but I wouldn't do away with thread floss altogether. I always like to liken waterflossers to using a high-pressured water hose to clean say the bathroom tiles. It doesn't get quite as clean as getting down to scrubbing them. But that's just my 2 cents.

[djspeece]

I just used interdental brushes dipped in Listerine and called it good. And of course the Waterpik. Worked very well for me during my 3 year sentence. Best of luck!

[tiffingirl]

Before braces I flossed every day. With braces I gave up flossing, it was just too time consuming and some teeth are so close together that I cannot fit the floss between them. I occasionally use an interproximal brush. I use a waterpik several times a day and this must be working well because my Ortho always compliments me on my excellent oral hygiene. I don't let on about not flossing though haha!

[kplatt2010]

I think the importance of flossing is really dependent upon three factors: (a) your DNA , (b) what are your alternate mitigating strategies, (c) sealant factor offered.

Using myself as an example; my sister must have gotten my father's genes for dental carries. That girl had maybe two or three cavities in her lifetime thus far. Myself; I had 21+ cavities filled as a child alone. Of note though; my sister also was offered sealants at some point whereas they told my Mom that I was too old. This was as they were filling 3 cavities mind you.

The cavity filling every six month exam settled down once I hit my 20's. I was never a flosser; perhaps because I have a small mouth and it made my fingers cramp? Honestly though; I'm just making $h*t up because I hate flossing.

My pattern of flossing has always been one week before the dentist and then stop. So basically flossing one week every six months. Yes; I know, what's the point? The point is I hate lectures and instead I got "Good Job Karla". There was the positive reinforcement to floss for one week.

Fast forward to braces with food getting in crevices and painful gums if said food is left within braces and major jaw surgery. My answer? Waterpik with ortho attachment working up to level 8 and frequent brushing after every food intake. I'm on my second Waterpik in almost 3 years. It keeps my teeth and braces sparkling clean and every ortho treatment I get that positive reinforcement from the techs that they wish all their patients had this clean of teeth.

With regards to the jaw surgery; I did have to stop Waterpiking for ~six weeks. However; you don't get food stuck when you're drinking milkshakes for 12 weeks. During that time; I used one of those Neils Sinus Rinse bottles to gently irrigate my mouth to get out blood clots and to clean because even a baby tooth brush was nearly impossible.

Lastly and most importantly; the other useful action that a Waterpik can do is clean your bathroom sink!!This is for those folks that have not had this ahha moment yet.

[tiffingirl]

Lastly and most importantly; the other useful action that a Waterpik can do is clean your bathroom sink!!This is for those folks that have not had this ahha moment yet.

Yep! Works a treat around the taps and sink hole.

I also use it for cleaning my jewellery.

[Jami1]

I am very much on the ocd side and absolutely brush, floss and waterpic after eating anything. That being said, There is definitely no between meal snacking which has the added benefit of weight loss. I found the pre-threaded floss so much easier to use than using a floss threader. The one I use is Glide threader floss. It has a stiff end on one end and is very easy to use although it can be costly. It comes in a box with around 30 individually wrapped pieces and I generally rinse it off after reuse the same piece all day ( know that sounds gross but it works) Good Luck

[Ravenclaw]

When I started wearing braces, I would brush, floss, and Waterpik everyday. But it got so time consuming that I decided to just alternate between flossing and using the Waterpik after brushing at night. After a few months, I decided to just use the Waterpik every night. I think the Waterpik does a good enough job because the two dental hygienists I've seen since then have both complimented me on how clean my teeth were and mentioned how there wasn't much to clean.

[braceace]

When I started wearing braces, I would brush, floss, and Waterpik everyday. But it got so time consuming that I decided to just alternate between flossing and using the Waterpik after brushing at night. After a few months, I decided to just use the Waterpik. I think the Waterpik does a good enough job because the two dental hygienists I've seen since then have both complimented me on how clean my teeth were and mentioned how there wasn't much to clean.

That's what I've been doing the last week or so is just alternating between flossing and waterpik. I'll find out in a couple of week at my adjustment appointment if that's good enough

[tested]

I never flossed, started using a water pik 1.5 years into my treatment. Teeth are fine and ortho complemented my hygiene.