Poll of the Day > Just realized floss should never touch your gums

(+) Yeah! (+)

putting any tension/stress on your gums will cause recession leading to gum disease.
Oh Boy.

This doesn't sound entirely correct, but I'm not a dentist.

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yeah because gums can also do the opposite.

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Sarcasthma posted...

This doesn't sound entirely correct, but I'm not a dentist.

yeah I dont know how reliable TC is

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What Ive read suggests that a common mistake is being too rough when flossing near the gum line. TC is probably right.

Also, apparently youre supposed to floss then brush

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I feel like flossing then brushing is just common sense. You get all the shit on the inside out and then you brush it all away

If you use mouthwash, you should use it after you floss and before you brush. Most people use mouthwash after they brush, but that washes off any remaining fluoride from the toothpaste.

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This goes against what I've been told by dentists

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Never put physical pressure on your gums with the floss. There is no need to pull the floss at the level of your gum tissue. If your gums aren't healthy, they may bleed, or you can experience pain. If you regularly put pressure on your gums with floss, you could create lasting damage in the tissue in the form of a furrow or cleft. Don't risk it.

I'll bet this is more for people who dont have strong gums but i could also see how over time people can strain their gums between their teeth causing recession if they floss to hard/push against the gums every time

MICHALECOLE posted...

I feel like flossing then brushing is just common sense. You get all the shit on the inside out and then you brush it all away

My logic was that if you flossed first you would brush stuff back into the gaps so you brush, then floss, then rinse.

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teddy241 posted...

Never put physical pressure on your gums with the floss. There is no need to pull the floss at the level of your gum tissue. If your gums aren't healthy, they may bleed, or you can experience pain. If you regularly put pressure on your gums with floss, you could create lasting damage in the tissue in the form of a furrow or cleft. Don't risk it.

I'll bet this is more for people who dont have strong gums but i could also see how over time people can strain their gums between their teeth causing recession if they floss to hard/push against the gums every time

If you don't floss regularly your gums will bleed because you'll be pulling away dead or dying tissue. If you floss with any regularity that shouldn't be happening. Not cleaning your gums with floss can also cause recession.

You should be putting pressure on your tooth when flossing, not on the gum. But you should be going all the way down to the gum.

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teddy241 posted...

putting any tension/stress on your gums will cause recession leading to gum disease.

That ship has already sailed.


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DrPrimemaster posted...

What Ive read suggests that a common mistake is being too rough when flossing near the gum line. TC is probably right.

I'm a little surprised since there are dental blogs that seem to specifically raise the issue of trying to avoid putting pressure on the gums themselves

https://www.milnerdentistry.com/patient-information/blog/more-blogs/5-flossing-mistakes/

The problem is a lot of other sources don't really seem to address it directly, leaving some ambiguity:

https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-floss#how-to-floss

I thought my dentist had always mentioned that I needed to at least make contact with the gums (although obviously there wouldn't be much pressure regardless, since you're supposed to floss going out rather than in). Then again, I guess a lot of the dental blogs aren't actually written by dentists, but instead by outside marketing agencies which source their information from other dental blogs.

Blighboy posted...

This goes against what I've been told by dentists

idk, are you really going to trust dentists over some guy on the internet? Feels a little off-brand for you.


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I just asked a dental hygienist right this minute and she sighed at the stupidity of this topic when asked her if this is true or not

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BADoglick posted...

I just asked a dental hygienist right this minute and she sighed at the stupidity of this topic when asked her if this is true or not

What about flossing before brushing or using mouthwash before brushing?
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Revelation34 posted...

What about flossing before brushing or using mouthwash before brushing?

I'd imagine that's actually the best course of action as you want tooth paste to "stick" to your teeth so washing it off with mouthwash seems redundant unless you give it sometime after brushing to use it. Also floss and/or Interdental brushes will dislodge any food and plaque that can be washed away with mothwash so that's probably what you want to do first. Floss and Interdental brushes > Mothwash(sometimes) > Brush is what I do.

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