You Only Have To Floss The Ones You Want To Keep

Do I have to floss? The answer is: YES.

Brushing your teeth with out flossing is like washing only half of your car. Brushing only gets the plaque on the surfaces you can see but its the pesky parts that are in between, that those bristles just can't reach . Yeah, you know, the Front and Back of the tooth . Add it up, that is like HALF the tooth! How silly,would that be to only clean the middle section of your car(including the top). Unfortunately, unlike our car, this can have a major affect on not only your oral health but your whole body. We used to only be concerned about your teeth, now its your whole body. Imagine that! Your mouth which is connected to your head, which is connected to your body can effect the rest of you whole body health. Crazy , It's mind blowing , I tell ya.

Here is an article from perio.org about the link between gum disease and heart disease.



" Gum Disease Links to Heart Disease and Stroke
Researchers have found that people with gum disease are almost twice as likely to suffer from coronary artery disease.
Heart Disease
Several theories exist to explain the link between periodontal disease and heart disease. One theory is that oral bacteria can affect the heart when they enter the blood stream, attaching to fatty plaques in the coronary arteries (heart blood vessels) and contributing to clot formation. Coronary artery disease is characterized by a thickening of the walls of the coronary arteries due to the buildup of fatty proteins. Blood clots can obstruct normal blood flow, restricting the amount of nutrients and oxygen required for the heart to function properly. This may lead to heart attacks.
Another possibility is that the inflammation caused by periodontal disease increases plaque build up, which may contribute to swelling of the arteries.
Researchers have found that people with periodontal disease are almost twice as likely to suffer from coronary artery disease as those without periodontal disease.
Periodontal disease can also exacerbate existing heart conditions. Patients at risk for infective endocarditis may require antibiotics prior to dental procedures. Your periodontist and cardiologist will be able to determine if your heart condition requires use of antibiotics prior to dental procedures.
Stroke
Additional studies have pointed to a relationship between periodontal disease and stroke. In one study that looked at the causal relationship of oral infection as a risk factor for stroke, people diagnosed with acute cerebrovascular ischemia were found more likely to have an oral infection when compared to those in the control group. "


So I no longer want to hear when I go over your health history and ask about medications or other medical conditions with you, and I ask, "any other medications, supplemments,vitamins, surgeries or health conditions not listed?" I don't want to hear this reply (do I need to repeat it a third time) " nope nothing that is related to what you are doing ." Because it does . IT has ALOT to do with what I am doing and what you will be doing.... so just fill out all of the health history and list all of your medications, and conditions, please(big smile). IT is confidential, HIPPA makes sure it is :)

So what can you do to prevent this inflammation from occurring and getting gum disease which then leads down an unknown path.


You guessed it FLOSS. Yes, flossing is difficult and a pain but it is worth it. Most people who floss or try to floss are doing it incorrectly which causes even more frustration. I will try and explain the proper floss technique and for visual refer back to my previous post with the youtube link it demonstrates it quite nicely.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_lOfpMmlHA


HOW TO FLOSS

1. Tear off about 18 inches of floss ( I prefer several shorter pieces so I don't cut off circulation)


2. Wrap the majority of the floss around the middle finger of your dominant hand


3. Leave a little for your other middle finger on the opposite hand.


4. Now practice unraveling from the dominant and raveling the other .


5. Good this allows to unravel for more floss when you need it in the back and less for in the front. Also I prefer to use a clean piece of floss each time.


6. Next bring your middle fingers towards the palm of your hand and use your pointer fingers and your thumbs to manipulate the floss (pincher fingers)


7. For the back teeth you only need the two pointer fingers with more floss. (You should only have two fingers in the mouth allowing for more room to floss, unlike the other way which requires dislocating your jaw and two fists struggling to get in between some teeth while fighting your tongue, whew! I'm exhausted. Or you can just get a fliptop head.) For the front teeth you will use one pointer finger from one hand and one thumb from the other with less floss than you used for the back teeth.


8. When flossing you will gently ease the floss back and forth till you get through the contact of the two teeth (do not snap it through, this can do damage to your gums and it HURTS, OW!)


9. After you eased it through, then wrap it around one side of the tooth forming a "C" shape and move the floss up and down about 4-5 times. (make sure you're going to the base of the pocket) Then repeat on the other side.


10. Continue untill all the teeth are flossed.

At first, this may take a while but once you get the hang of it, it shouldn't take any longer than one to two minutes. I recommend if you are not doing this already start practicing and do it while you watch TV because it will take some time.

Healthy Gums DO not Bleed.

"but my teeth have always bled..." Well, then you are not doing something right and you might have gingivitis, periodontitis or other underlying health condition.(I will explain these in a later blog or you can ask me and I will reply)

Bleeding is a sign that there is an infection going on. Just like any other infection in the body, the body tries to get rid of it by sending white blood cells to fight it off; but much like a splinter in a finger if it we don't remove the splinter it will only get worse until we remove it. That's where tweezers come in for the splinter and floss for the gums.

Things to expect if you are not flossing properly or on a regular basis.

• You may get some bleeding. this is normal, it means you need to do it more often and properly
• It may be tender at first, think of it like going to the gym. If you have not worked out in a long time or even properly you may be sore when you do. But this eventually goes away. Same with your gums you need to work out your gums properly and often, but be gentle .
• After about two weeks of daily consistent proper flossing the bleeding should stop. YAY!
• Also you might even see a reduction of cavities that your doctor keeps finding in between your teeth. hmm, i wonder why?

Listed below are some more links you can follow having to do with diabetes, osteoporosis, pregnancy, respiratory disease...and how the are related to your oral health. They are easy to understand and comprehend. The very last one gives a link to evidenced based dentistry with actual studies and peer reviewed articles (said with a voice full of enthusiasm and excitement- cheesy grin and a thumbs up *ting) .

Heart disease http://www.perio.org/consumer/mbc.heart.htm

preterm births/ pregnancy http://www.perio.org/consumer/mbc.baby.htm

diabetes http://www.perio.org/consumer/mbc.diabetes.htm

respiratory http://www.perio.org/consumer/mbc.respiratory.htm

http://ebd.ada.org/ evidence based dentistry with peer reviewed articles (sounds enticing doesn't it :)

enjoy, and thanks for the comments