Dental floss will save you from oral infections

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A toothbrush and toothpaste are not enough for high-quality teeth cleaning. Dentists recommend using dental floss to remove all food debris from the interdental spaces. However, cleaning the oral cavity with floss also needs to be done correctly so as not to damage the gums and tooth enamel.

Tufts University periodontist Irina Dragan said that she often sees patients with severe inflammation in the oral cavity. Most of them are flossing incorrectly. Together with her colleagues, Dragan decided to conduct a study to find a way to reduce gum bleeding during tooth brushing.

There are a huge number of bacteria in the mouth and on the teeth, including dangerous ones. All of them try to attach themselves to the enamel in such a way that they cannot be removed with a brush and other cleaning devices.

Scientists gathered a group of volunteers who were given detailed instructions on how to floss. The second group was advised by experts to brush their teeth as they were used to.

A total of 36 people participated. All of them underwent an examination, during which signs of inflammatory processes in the gums were detected. For eight weeks, the first group brushed their teeth according to the recommendations of doctors. During this period, almost 90% of the participants reduced their bleeding gums. In the control group, which brushed their teeth as usual, this indicator decreased by only 30%.

The researchers specified that in their recommendations, they assigned the subjects to the adapted horizontal-vertical flossing technique (AHVFT):

• A 32 cm piece of floss should be cut. Each end of the floss should be wrapped around the ring finger of each hand. About 12 cm of floss should remain free between the palms of the hands.
• The hands should be folded so that the palms are facing down, and the floss itself should be taken with the thumb and index finger of each hand.
• Next, the floss should be placed between two teeth and the movements of the fingers should be controlled to prevent the floss from cutting into the gums. The floss should be pressed against the side surface of one tooth and moved back and forth in a sawing motion, while simultaneously pressing up and down. These movements are similar to wiping your back with a towel.

Periodontist Paul Levy emphasized that this is the first study of its kind to prove that flossing according to a certain technique can reduce the number of gum infections and reduce oral inflammation.