Flossing your teeth shouldn’t feel awkward, boring or painful. And dodging the floss because of these reasons isn’t doing your teeth and gums any favours. Flossing teeth regularly improves your oral health and can even result in shorter hygiene appointments. So, if you want to spend less time in the chair then let’s talk about flossing. 

No. Not that type of flossing. This type of flossing.  

Why you hate flossing

If you’re a floss dodger you may use one (or both) of the following arguments to convince yourself it’s not worth doing. 

Argument number 1: “Sticking a tiny bit of string between my teeth isn’t going to have a massive impact on my oral hygiene. I mean, it’s just string! So, skipping the floss now and then is fine.” 

Argument number 2: “Flossing teeth is boring. I hate it. It hurts my gums and takes too long. Plus, I brush my teeth twice a day so it’s fine.” 

As dentists, we’d like to address each of these anti-flossing arguments. Hopefully we’ll convince you once and for all that daily flossing is a good idea.

Argument 1: Flossing won’t help

When food lingers around your teeth and gums, plaque is more likely to build up. Letting plaque bacteria fester in your mouth can lead to problems, such as gum disease and tooth decay. Regular brushing gets rid of a lot of the plaque around your teeth and gums, but there are some areas brushes can’t reach. Flossing gets into every narrow gap. It coaxes out food that’s stuck between your teeth and removes plaque. 

Argument 2: Flossing is boring and it hurts

Here are a couple of ideas to make flossing feel less of a chore. 

• Put on your favourite song and floss to a tune you enjoy. (Although singing along may be difficult.)
• Reward yourself each time you floss — ideally not with something edible right after you’ve cleaned your teeth.

Admittedly, there aren’t too many ways to jazz up flossing. It’s just one of those average life tasks that need doing. Similar to emptying the dishwasher and folding washing. 

If you struggle with flossing because it’s painful or your gums bleed, then we’re dealing with a different problem. Pain could mean you’re flossing technique needs a little work. While bleeding gums could be a sign of gum disease. 

If bleeding occurs, don’t ignore it. Brushing more regularly, using a soft-bristled brush, and flossing your teeth every day may help lessen the bleeding but you should make an appointment to see your dentist. They’ll assess the damage and advise you on the treatment options.

How to floss your teeth

With the right technique, flossing shouldn’t hurt or take much time. Here’s how to do it right in five simple steps. 

1. Cut around 30-40cm of floss from your reel. Wrap one end around your index finger on one hand. Make a second ‘end’ roughly 3cm from your first finger and wrap around the index finger on your other hand. The floss between your fingers should be pulled taut.
2. Placing your thumbs under the floss, guide it gently between your teeth. Use an up and down motion to ease it in. Avoid forcing or quickly snapping the floss right up to the gum line. 
3. Curve the floss around the tooth and then make a hook-shape as you move it around the side of the tooth and gum line. Make this movement once or twice and do it for the tooth on either side of the floss. 
4. Work downwards to gently slide the floss back out between the gap. 
5. Unroll a fresh 3cm of floss from your fingers and move onto the next tooth. Repeat the process.

What age should you start flossing?

Perhaps the reason you’re reading this article and don’t like flossing is because it was never ‘a thing’ when you were growing up. It’s never too late to start. Make flossing part of your daily oral health routine and you’ll be doing your teeth a big favour. 

If you’re a parent and don’t want your kids to have the floss-less childhood you did, you can start setting an example from as young as two years old. By flossing your child’s teeth after brushing while they’re young, they’ll see it as a regular part of cleaning their teeth. The hope is that as soon as they’re old enough to do it themselves (aged around 10), they’ll continue with it. 

Get extra guidance on flossing

Still unsure whether flossing is worth your time or how to do it? If you’re a Keppel Dental patient, our dentists are more than happy to talk to you about flossing and brushing. Let us know at the start of your appointment that this is something you want to go over, and we’ll leave time for a flossing demo.

Struggling to keep a date with your tooth brush?

Try these 5 tips and make teeth cleaning part of your daily routine

Cleaning your teeth probably isn’t the most exciting part of your day. When you’ve got coffee to drink, social media to catch up on and a whole family to get ready, time for teeth cleaning slips out of your routine. It doesn’t help when your dentist mentions (yet again) that you need to brush a little more often. You’ve tried, but you just can’t seem to crack it. 

We understand. We’re aware of how difficult getting into the habit of brushing teeth is, but regular brushing improves your chance of needing minimal work during in-practice appointments. Shorter appointments and simpler treatments equal lower dental costs. 

As well as saving you some dollars, getting into the habit of brushing your teeth helps you avoid:

• tooth decay leading to cavities,
• gum disease and
• bad breath.

More serious conditions linked to your heart and respiratory system can also be kept at bay with regular brushing and flossing. There are even some small studies suggesting a link between poor oral health and dementia. But let’s not get bogged down in doom and gloom and instead focus on how to make brushing your teeth part of your daily routine. 

The official line on how often you should clean your teeth

According to the Australian Dental Association (ADA) from age 12 and up, you should aim to brush for at least two minutes, morning and night, spending around 30 seconds on each quarter of your mouth. The advice for cleaning the teeth of babies, toddlers and younger children is different.  

Tips for getting into a brushing routine

If you’re thinking two minutes, twice a day is a little longer than you can spare, here are some of our favourite ideas to help you get into the habit of brushing. 

1. Pick a time to brush

When you get up, after brekkie or coffee, before dropping the kids off at school, after your favourite TV show. If you’re able to find something you already do as a habit every day and tag your teeth cleaning onto the end, it eventually becomes part of your routine.  

2. Put your toothbrush where you can see it

Combat the old saying, ‘out of sight, out of mind’ by keeping your toothbrush and paste somewhere where you’ll always see it. For example, leave it on the edge of a sink rather than away in a cupboard. When you’re done place it where you’ll see it during your bedtime routine. You could even put it in your work bag, gym bag or keep it in an office drawer. 

3. Set a reminder

On your phone, email or an app. Make sure you add an alarm and pick a time when you won’t be busy doing something else, so you act on it rather than dismissing it. If you don’t want a daily alarm, stick a post-it note by the front door for the morning and the bathroom door for bedtime. 

4. Reward yourself when you remember 

You may be a little beyond getting a sticker from your dentist for good brushing, but you’re never too old to pat yourself on the back. Decide on a reward that works for you and give yourself that treat every time you remember to clean your teeth. Some reward ideas: buy something new (clothes, album, book) at the end of 30 unmissed days of brushing; take out coffee at the end of a full week of brushing; a trip to the park, pool or cinema for the kids if they brush twice a day for a whole month. Checking the time off on a calendar makes it easy to keep track of how you’re doing. 

5. Set an achievable goal

Going from doing very little (or nothing) in the way of cleaning your teeth to the recommended amount is a big leap. Stay motivated by setting achievable teeth cleaning goals. For example, try brushing just once a day for a week. You can then build on your success. Pushing that goal that little bit further as you get into better and better habits will hopefully lead you to brush for two minutes, twice a day, every day.

How do you remember?

Rewards, reminders and regular times are a handful of suggestions to lead you down the path of good teeth cleaning habits. Everyone responds to something different though.  Join us on Facebook where we’ve asked the group, ‘How do you remember to clean your teeth?’ Add your comments or share your tips on how you remember. It could help someone else.

Brush your teeth twice a day and floss at least once. 

It’s pretty common to hear your dentist recite this mantra during your appointment. And it’s often repeated for good reason: it’s sound advice. 

Keeping teeth and gums healthy is much easier when you follow a daily brushing and flossing routine. But there are times when patients tell us they’re trying to go the extra mile with their oral hygiene and we can see the effects of their enthusiasm. 

The dark side of teeth cleaning  

What we’re about to tell you isn’t easy for us dentists to say. It goes against everything we stand for, but at Keppel Dental, we’re not afraid to tackle tough dentistry topics. Even if that means saying things that are sometimes a little controversial. So here it is.

Brushing can be bad for your teeth. 

There! We said it! It wasn’t easy. But now it’s out in the open it’s important we explain ourselves because this isn’t permission to skip brushing. It’s a chance to share what we know about the dangers of toothbrush abrasion.  

What is over toothbrush abrasion?

This is the technical name for over brushing and affects teeth and gums. Abrasion happens when you:

• brush too hard
• brush too often
• brush too fast
• brush too long
• use a toothbrush with bristles that are too firm.

Receding gums and the loss of tooth enamel as a result of over brushing may cause teeth to feel more sensitive. In extreme cases, toothbrush abrasion weakens teeth, so chips and cavities are more likely. 

Only small changes are needed in your oral health routine to avoid overbrushing.

3 Ways to avoid the risks of over brushing

1. Use a soft bristled toothbrush

Broadly speaking, the dental community agrees that soft bristles are better for teeth and gums. They’re as effective as firm and medium brushes but are less likely to damage the mouth. Especially when cleaning along the gum line, where gum recession from over brushing is a risk. The same is true about protecting the enamel on your teeth. If you’re an over-enthusiastic brusher, using a soft brush is less likely to wear away your natural layer of tooth enamel.

2. Time your brushing

Brushing teeth for longer won’t make them cleaner. The Australian Dental Association recommends brushing for around 2 minutes, twice a day. Set a timer on your phone or buy a 2-minute egg timer you can leave in your bathroom. As soon as the time’s up you can stop brushing. 

3. Go lightly

Pushing firmly with your brush against teeth and gums doesn’t remove more plaque or bacteria. A sign that you’re probably applying too much pressure is if brush bristles splay outwards during clearing. This not only damages teeth but means you’ll need to replace your brush more often. A light touch is all that’s needed. Just enough that you can feel the brush moving over your teeth and gums. 

If your teeth and gums are showing signs of over brushing, your dentist is likely to say something and offer some tips on how to improve your brushing technique. 

Fixing damage caused by over brushing

There are treatments that can help your teeth recover from tooth abrasion. The best course of action depends on the type of damage and how severe it is. 

For example, the advice for treating teeth that become sensitive as a result of over brushing may be to switch to a toothpaste designed for sensitive teeth and start using a soft-bristled brush. Not only will brushing feel more comfortable but it can help stop more tooth enamel from wearing away. 

In more severe cases where holes in the teeth have appeared, your dentist may suggest a dental restoration treatment. This could mean getting a composite filling or glass ionomer to protect your natural tooth.  

Treatment for receding gums is a little more substantial. Like enamel, gums that have worn away don’t grow back. The only way to lessen the appearance of gum recession is by having a gum graft. This is a relatively new procedure in the world of dental surgery. 

Gum grafting involves removing gum tissue from another part of your mouth (usually the roof of the mouth) and attaching it to the area where the gum has receded. Healing may take a few weeks and a follow up appointment with your dentist to check the results of the graft is needed. 

Banishing over brushing from your cleaning routine

The symptoms of over brushing teeth can be avoided by making small changes to how you clean your teeth.

• Use a soft toothbrush.
• Only brush your teeth for 2-minutes at a time.
• Use a light touch, the brush bristles splaying outwards is a sign of too much pressure.

If you feel your teeth and gums are already a victim of enthusiastic cleaning, then speak with your dentist or oral health therapist. They’re always happy to share advice on how to brush your teeth correctly.
In the Yeppoon and Rockhampton area and need to see a dentist? Find out how you can become our patient.

When the bristles go soft and your teeth still feel cruddy despite your recent brushing, you know it’s time to toss your toothbrush and get a new one. 

But after you’ve chucked it in the bin, where does your old toothbrush go? 

The truth is, nowhere.  

A plastic toothbrush takes approximately 400 years to decompose. That means even the first toothbrushes, which were made in the 1930s, are still buried somewhere. If that’s not mind-bending enough, according to National Geographic you’re likely to use around 300 toothbrushes during your lifetime. And that’s just you. When you consider there are 7.8 billion people in the world who potentially use lots of toothbrushes too… Well, that’s a big number of toothbrushes heading to landfill. 

It’s a scary thought.

These billions of toothbrushes impact our environment. They’re part of the plastic problem. Facts provided by the Tangaroa Blue Foundation tell us:

• Eight million tonnes of plastic enter the ocean each year 
• 40,000 pieces of plastic are estimated to float in each square kilometre of the ocean 
• 75% of what is removed from beaches is made of plastic 
• 800 species worldwide are affected by marine debris (plastics cause death to more than a million seabirds and more than 100,000 sea mammals each year).

But you’re just trying to keep your teeth clean, why should you care about recycling your toothbrush? 

A few reasons.

Toothbrushes are made from a mixture of different plastics, rubber and crude oil (petroleum) that can be harmful to the environment. During the manufacturing process, more plastic and crude oil is used. Crude oil is non-renewable and the usage of it increases the demand for oil wells (impacting habitats and ecosystems). While we can’t avoid this in general we can lessen the need for it by making simple changes, like the toothbrushes we choose and how we dispose of old ones. 

Switching your toothbrush can help the planet

Being aware of how we impact the environment and our future is key. Doing what you can to help is as much as anyone can ask. Fortunately, there’s plenty of clever alternatives out there, especially when it comes to toothbrushes. 

As dentists, we’re very keen to make sure you continue to care for your teeth while saving the planet. Choosing to use a non-plastic toothbrush is a simple, environmentally friendly step you can take to decreasing the amount of plastic you use. 

Use an eco friendly toothbrush

Biodegradable toothbrushes don’t take 400 years to disappear. Environmentally friendly cornstarch or  bamboo toothbrushes generally take 5-6 years to decompose. If you have a composter, it can take less than a year! Some companies even got the extra eco-mile and package their biodegradable brushes in biodegradable packaging. Nice. 

There are lots of companies offering fun, plant based brushes in different sizes and colours. Just ask Google. Some even offer subscriptions, removing the pain of you having to remember when it’s time to replace your toothbrush. 

If a bamboo or cornstarch toothbrush doesn’t tickle your fancy, how about toothbrushes made of recycled plastic? This doesn’t mean you get a toothbrush previously used by someone else. (Yuck!) But it does mean the plastic has had another life previously. For example, it may have been made from old yoghurt pots. 

Making more out of your toothbrush

Using an eco-firendly toothbrush is one way you can help the planet. The other is by recycling your old toothbrushes.

Depending on the type of plastic, your old toothbrush can be:

• Reused – the materials are cleaned, separated and reused around the world. 
• Upcycled – existing products are used to create new products, or they are repurposed 
• Recycled – plastic is separated and melted into pallets that can be used to create new plastic products (eg. the yoghurt cup toothbrush!)

Giving your old product a new life rather than creating toxic landfill is an easy way to do your bit. 

You can also upcycle old toothbrushes yourself. Author Kathryn Kellogg , writer of 101 Ways to Go Zero Waste, has great ideas on how to reuse your old toothbrush here. 

How to recycle your toothbrush

Recycling company TerraCycle are helping in the fight against dental products ending up in landfill. Supported and funded by well-known oral health brands, they encourage us to use their recycling program which accepts old toothbrushes and empty toothpaste tubes. 

Handily, Keppel Dental is your local recycling point for dental products. Just hand your old brushes in at reception and we’ll put it in our recycle box. 

Accepted products include: 

• manual toothbrushes, 
• electric toothbrush heads, 
• empty toothpaste tubes and 
• floss packets. 

Set a reminder to bring these to your next Keppel Dental appointment. All we ask is that the products are clean and dry. Please remove all leftover toothpaste and floss.  

The cherry on top? Bring us your old toothbrushes and we’ll reward your love for the plant by giving you a new toothbrush.