Oral Health: Don't Ignore Your GumsOral Health: Don't Ignore Your Gums

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Oral Health: Don't Ignore Your Gums

When you go to your dentist, you are likely concerned about cavities and the stains on your teeth. If you are like me, then you probably never thought much about your gums. Unfortunately, this caused me to form a serious gum recession condition. My dentist said that hard brushing practices, poor flossing techniques, and even the consumption of sugary foods led to the recession. After some deep scaling treatments, I was informed that I needed a gum graft procedure. The gums are extremely important to your health. They provide your teeth with the nutrients they need and they protect the sensitive dental roots. The gums even keep bacteria away from your jaw bone. Don't ignore your gums like I did. Read my blog and learn about proper oral care techniques. Prevention practices can easily save your gums from necessary restoration.

Helpful Flossing Tips When You Have Dental Implants

1 November 2015
 Categories: Dentist, Blog

As your dentist has probably been telling you your whole life, flossing is very important. Without flossing, you can't fully get rid of debris and food particles that end up in-between your teeth. Although flossing is always important, it can be even more important when you have a dental implant. However, you do have to be careful about how you do it if you don't want to cause damage to your implant. Luckily, following these tips will help you floss properly when you have dental implants.

Use an Implant-Friendly Floss

First of all, you should make sure that you are using an implant-friendly floss. Some flosses have a waxy coating that can cause damage to your implant. You can ask your dentist for recommendations, but overall, you should be looking for a floss that does not include a wax coating. You can also check the label for the floss that you are thinking about buying; some brands are labeled as being dental implant-friendly.

Use the Right Technique

You might think that you know how to floss properly, but you could be using the wrong technique. This can cause damage to your natural teeth, but it can be even more hazardous for your dental implant. Basically, you need to be very gentle when you're using floss. You should make sure that you don't force the floss in-between your teeth; instead, do it gently, and enter at a sideways angle. When you are removing your floss, do not do it roughly; instead, take your time and be gentle. If you aren't careful enough when you're removing your floss, you could actually seriously damage your implant.

Consider Investing in a Water Flosser

One great option is to consider investing in a water flosser. A lot of people who have braces use a water flosser because it can be difficult to clean around their braces brackets with regular floss. Even though it might not be difficult to clean around your implant, you could damage it without meaning to. This isn't something that you have to worry about if you use a water flosser, which will be gentle and will use water to get the job done. Along with being safer for your implant, it can also be easier and can do a more thorough job of cleaning in-between all of your teeth.

Flossing is an important part of taking care of both your natural teeth and your implants. Follow these tips if you want to do it right. Visit a site like http://www.nwidentist.com/ for more information.