Flossing is crucial part of your oral hygiene as it guards your teeth against various dental ailments. According to a study, about half of the American population do not floss daily. American Dental Association is of the view that taking care of gums and teeth is not just important for preventing cavities or bad breath but also because mouth is a gateway into your body’s overall health and there are mounting evidences that show relation between poor dental hygiene and various physical ailments. So ADA (American Dental Association) advices you to brush twice a day and floss once a day and if you want to ignore their advice the following facts will make you familiar with the consequences that you would have to face if you do not floss once a day.
What would happen if you don’t Floss?
More than experiencing some build up in-between your teeth or a few cavities, choosing not to Floss everyday will affect your dental health in the following ways:
- Bleeding Gums: When you do not floss regularly, your gum tissue becomes unhealthy and gums begin to bleed when you brush. Moreover, the plaque build-up between your teeth makes your gum red, swollen and quick-to-bleed. And if this plaque spreads; it can destroy tissues and bones in the mouth, creating pockets in-between the teeth.
- Halitosis (Bad Breath): Neglecting floss causes bad breath or halitosis that you cannot get rid of easily. Food particles that stick longer to your teeth start stinking and less you floss more are the chances of malodorous bacteria build-up in your mouth.
- Tartar Build-up: If you do not floss, more are the chances of tartar build-up, which cannot be removed by brushing; as it is a very hard substance and needs to be removed by a dentist only.
- Tooth Loss: If you do not floss regularly, you need to worry about pre-mature tooth loss. According to a study made by National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research; average adults of 20 to 64 years of age have lost an average of seven permanent teeth and 10% of Americans between the age group of 50 and 64 have absolutely no teeth left. All this happens because gum diseases cause the gums to pull away from teeth, leaving pockets for bacteria to grow, thus weakening the tooth structure.
- Pregnancy Problems: It is crucially important to control the bacteria in your body during pregnancy. And if you do not floss regularly, bacteria in mouth get absorbed into the blood stream thus resulting in low-birth weight babies. Moreover, if pregnant women have dental problems, their children are more likely to develop cavities.
- Yellow Teeth: If you want to maintain a white pearly smile then skipping flossing is not good. Removing build-up between teeth helps to make your smile appear whiter and cleaner.
- Cavities: The bacteria between the teeth that are not cleaned away will gradually lead to cavities or tooth decay. Cavities cause problems not only because they need filling but also because they disrupt the original tooth structure, thus leading to one after another dental work down the road.
So flossing regularly is crucial and essential because:
- It prevents the dental plaque to attack enamel and to cause the soft tissue inflammation as well.
- It helps remove dental plaque and bio-film from the teeth surfaces.
- It helps preventing periodontal diseases which may cause systemic diseases like; cardio-vascular disease, diabetes, pneumonia etc.
- It helps preventing gum problems, gums’ inflammation and bone loss.
- Removing debris using floss minimizes the chances of an inflammatory reaction.
Contact Aesthetic Dental Arts York, PA for the skilled and state-of-art detection and treatment of any of your oral health related problems. We use industry-leading and minimally invasive techniques to treat any of your oral health related issues.
