Flossing Instructions

Grasp a piece of floss between your thumb and forefinger of your right and left hands, leaving a piece of floss between your hands of approximately one to one and half inches in length . The floss between your two hands must be short because that way you will be able to apply it properly to the curved surfaces of your teeth. Floss is gently forced between the contacts of your teeth in a sawing motion. Once the floss has been moved through the contact area it is applied to the tooth surfaces in a curved fashion. The shape of the floss against the tooth should approximate a C. The floss is held against the tooth and gently moved up and down (not in and out) and it should function like a squeegee cleaning any plaque that is on the tooth. Plaque is a gelatinous film translucent film that adheres to your teeth and anything gently rubbing motion will remove it. Once you have cleaned one tooth surface move to the adjacent tooth’s surface and clean that before removing the floss thru the contact area. Good flossing technique sometimes takes supervised practice, but most patients with patience can be taught to do it properly.