Why Should I floss my teeth?

Most of the dental workers will tell you to floss every day.
Then you heard on the media that the benefits of flossing is not proven.

Many people think, it is very time consuming. some people told me it is very hard to floss the back teeth.
I am a firm believer of flossing.
Can your brush can reach the space between the teeth? If you have nicely aligned tooth, brush is not going to reach the inter-dental space. The tiny food particles will stay in that small space.  That will cause cavities between teeth.
Think of the place where gums and tooth meet. Bush will not reach there. The plaque accumulate that area will cause gingivitis, ie. inflammation of the gums. Untreated gingivitis will cause bone loss and eventually tooth will fall off. Gingivitis is the main cause of bad breath.

The solution:  floss every day. Floss is designed to go between the teeth and go a little below the gum level to remove food and plaque.
By flossing everyday, you are reducing your dental costs too. If there is no cavity, no need for fillings. You can even reduce the number of annual dental cleaning visits.

After doing it for about a month, flossing will become easy for you. Then it will not be a time consuming process.

So start your new habit of flossing.

Dental Cleaning means

So, you got your new insurance.
You have dental coverage. Every one said, first go for a cleaning.
If you are visiting for the first time, like many immigrants and refugees here, then you have no clue what it means.
So, I will tell you what to expect.
When you reach your chosen dental office, they are going to ask you to fill out a form. Mainly you will be filling out name address and stuff like that.
Then there is place to fill your medical history. The dentist wants to know about your allergies, regular medications you are taking etc. If you have any heart condition, or other diseases, you must mention that too.
Then fill out your insurance information too. Your health card is not needed in a dental office.
Once they take you in, the dentist will examine your teeth, tongue and the jaws. Then will discuss the findings with you. If needed the dentist will prescribe X-rays. Then will usually create a treatment plan.
I will tell you about the dental cleaning now. Some offices the dentist will do the dental cleaning. Some offices, they will assign a dental hygienist to do the cleaning.
Either way, they are going to use something called cavitron to clean your teeth. The instrument vibrates to help remove the calculus from teeth. There will be water coming from the tip as well. The water will cool down the instrument.

There will be a straw like thing to take the water out from your mouth, called saliva ejector.
Not a very pleasant experience, but not a very painful one either.
If it is your first time, and you are not keen in flossing everyday, you can experience some bleeding.
After the cleaning is done, there will be a polishing. It is similar to an electric brush. Instead of tooth paste there will be polishing pate/prophy paste.

While examining, the dentist will let you know about the findings. If you like, you can make a treatment plan too.