Through his private dental office in Jamestown, North Carolina, J. Michael Puckett, DDS, provides oral hygiene instruction as well as preventive care and treatment. J. Michael Puckett, DDS, helps his patients learn how to floss so that they can maximize plaque removal and reduce the risk of decay.
To floss your teeth, start with a length of floss approximately 18 inches long. You can then make a small loop of floss around one middle finger and wrap the other end of the floss around the middle finger of the other hand. This frees your thumb and pointer finger to grip the floss for better control.
Relaxing your lips and cheeks to make the most space in your mouth, you can then slide the floss gently into the gap between two teeth. Many patients find a slight sawing motion most effective, so long as the patient can avoid snapping the floss through the gap.
The patient must remember that he or she is flossing each tooth individually, not hitting the floss against the tender point of tissue between the teeth. Instead, the patient slides the floss gently up the surface of the tooth and drawing it along the gum line to the point of contact. Gently pulling with both fingers, the patient makes a “C” shape with the floss so that it curls around the front and back surfaces of the teeth.
The patient can then draw the floss back to the edge of the tooth so that it rubs against the enamel with a vertical sliding motion. Once the floss is free, there should be some fraying or discoloring to indicate the removal of plaque. The patient should then wind this dirty floss onto the middle finger that is catching the used floss, at which point new floss will unwind from the finger that has the clean floss.
This process should continue until the patient has flossed the space between every pair of teeth. As a final touch, the patient should floss the rear side of the back molars. The used length of floss should then go in the trash, as re-using floss can deposit old plaque and bacteria back into the mouth.
