Clever Floss Alternatives for Those Who Hate Flossing
I Hate Flossing
You’ve been told that some things are good for you, but no matter how often you hear about why you should do it, you have a hard time actually making yourself. You’ve probably gone to the dentist before or you listen to media that tells you to brush, brush, brush, floss, visit your dentist. You need to floss more. Are you flossing? Can I help you floss? It’s ok, you can admit it, you don’t like to floss.
So, what’s the solution?
I’d like to tell you about something that may sound new to you, which is interdental care. Interdental care simply means taking care of the gums and in between the teeth. This can be challenging for people. Most people don’t like to floss and even when they do floss, if they aren’t flossing correctly, then they aren’t getting the full benefits. You might be using floss picks that are great for convenience, but if you’re not really hugging that string around the tooth it’s possible that you are going up into the gum tissue and damaging the gums. This damage is called floss cleft and if it’s serious enough, then it can lead to issues that could even require gum surgery. So, what’s the solution? May I introduce to you, interdental brushes.
What’s an Interdental Brush?
An interdental brush is a small brush specifically designed to clean in between your teeth, where a regular toothbrush can’t reach. In our mouth, bacteria build structures called biofilm, which is a layer of living organisms that allows bacteria to live and breed in a more protected environment. When bacteria breed in the safety of biofilm, they produce a lot of waste. This waste offsets the pH balance on our teeth, and can lead to a host of issues like tooth decay and gum disease. So we obviously want to avoid biofilm buildup as much as possible.
The only way to destroy biofilm is by physically disrupting its structure, and biofilm loves to hide in between the teeth. This is where an interdental brush comes in. It’s an efficient, user-friendly device for biofilm removal between teeth. A simple in and out motion is usually enough to destroy biofilm structures. Interdental brushes can get into the nooks and crannies that dental floss can’t usually reach, and can even reach way up into the gums. Once you’re done using your interdental brush, just rinse it clean and it will be ready to use the next time.
Start With This Interdental Brush First
Once you dive into the world of interdental brushes, you’ll discover there are so many types. It can feel a bit overwhelming to figure out which one to start with first. Not to worry, I have some suggestions for you. First, I suggest you look at rubber bristled brushes (RBB for short). These brushes only have rubber or silicone, and are designed to massage and push out stuff between the teeth. They don’t do as much for biofilm management as traditional interdental brushes, but these are a great place to start to prepare your mouth for using interdental brushes. It can take some adjustment, because it can be uncomfortable using these types of tools at first if you have inflammation or bleeding gums. Starting with an RBB first, and as you use it, inflammation and bleeding should start to subside so you can move into using a more traditional interdental brush with bristles to start attacking that biofilm in between the teeth.
Why TePe Rubber Bristle Brushes Are My Favorite
You want to make sure it’s the correct size. TePe makes an extra small/small size, a medium/large size and an extra large size. You want to look at the actual nubs and silicone extensions themselves. Now that the patent has run out on soft picks, you are going to see a lot of off label brands that are making them. These off label brands may not be made with as much quality and I am hearing accounts of the extensions and nubs breaking off in people’s gums and staying in there, causing irritation in the gums. Your body recognizes foreign objects, so if something like that is staying in your gums, it could start inflaming itself to try to get rid of it, which is no fun for anyone. This is why I love the TePe EasyPicks. These are long, bendable, easy to use, and are all one piece so you don’t need to worry about pieces breaking off. The TePe EasyPicks can help you tighten and toughen that gum tissue so when you switch over to the interproximal brushes, it feels much more comfortable.
How Do You Know What Size To Get?
It can be difficult to figure out what size interdental brushes you will need. You can ask your local dental professional for help with sizing at your next appointment. Alternatively, you can purchase a mixed pack of interdental brushes like this one from TePe. It’s always a good idea to have several sizes on hand, because the spaces between your teeth are usually different so you will probably need several brush sizes. You can check out this handy guide from TePe for more information on proper sizing.
I hope this helped you learn about interdental brushes and inspired you to try using them. If you are interested in checking out some of my favorite interdental brushes from TePe, you can view them here.
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