{"id":98,"date":"2013-12-09T16:30:03","date_gmt":"2013-12-09T21:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/?p=98"},"modified":"2016-07-31T10:31:29","modified_gmt":"2016-07-31T14:31:29","slug":"really-need-floss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/really-need-floss\/","title":{"rendered":"Do I Really Need to Floss?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Floss<\/a>We\u2019ve all had our dentist<\/a> tell us about the importance of flossing every day. Part of us knows we should be flossing every day, and after every dental appointment, we tell ourselves that from now on, we will!<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s also a part of us that wonders – is flossing really necessary? Do I really need to do it every day? The simple answer, of course, is yes! Flossing is an integral part of an effective oral health routine, but just why is that?<\/p>\n

The Importance of Flossing<\/b><\/h2>\n

Flossing removes food debris and plaque buildup in those hard-to-reach spots between your teeth that your toothbrush can\u2019t get to. If this plaque isn\u2019t properly removed on a daily basis, it will eventually harden and lead to calculus or tarter buildup. This calculus and tarter buildup can then cause gum disease, cavities, tooth loss, and even contribute to systematic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.<\/p>\n

Four Steps to Effective Flossing<\/b><\/h2>\n

Now that we understand just why it is so important to floss every day, we need to ask, What is the most effective way to floss? The American Dental Hygienists\u2019s Association recommends these four easy steps to proper flossing:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Wind<\/b>: \u00a0Wind 18 inches of floss around middle fingers of each hand. Pinch floss between thumbs and index fingers, leaving a one- to two-inch length in between. Use thumbs to direct floss between upper teeth.<\/li>\n
  2. Guide:<\/b>\u00a0Keep a one- to two-inch length of floss taut between fingers. Use index fingers to guide floss between contacts of the lower teeth.<\/li>\n
  3. Glide:<\/b>\u00a0Gently guide floss between the teeth by using a zig-zag motion. Do not snap floss between your teeth<\/i>. Contour floss around the side of the tooth.<\/li>\n
  4. Slide:<\/b>\u00a0Slide floss up and down against the tooth surface and under the gum line. Floss each tooth thoroughly with a clean section of floss.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Tips to Encourage Flossing<\/b><\/h2>\n

    Knowing why flossing is important and how to do it properly is great information to have, but what if you just can\u2019t remember to? The best way to remember to floss is to set a specific time of day to do it. Choose a time of day when you have a few extra minutes to spare and won\u2019t feel rushed. For some, flossing in the morning after breakfast is the most convenient time. For others, mornings are too rushed and flossing right before bed is what works best. Some people even floss while they are watching TV in the evenings!<\/p>\n

    Dealing with Flossing Issues<\/b><\/h2>\n

    Some people just find flossing to be too difficult or uncomfortable, so they skip it altogether. Standard floss can be difficult to maneuver or painful to wind around the fingers, but fortunately there are alternatives available. Wooden plaque removers, dental picks, and pre-threaded flossers are all convenient low-cost replacements to regular floss, and are the preferred flossing tool for many. You can also experiment with different kinds of dental floss, such as waxed, unwaxed, thick, and flavored.<\/p>\n

    The time of day you floss and what type of floss you use is not the most important aspect of flossing, though. Whatever method you prefer is the method best for you. The most important aspect of flossing is just doing it, every day!<\/p>\n

    Let’s Get Flossing!<\/h2>\n

    Thinking Outside the Box: Alternative Types of Floss<\/a><\/p>\n

    Want to Start Flossing Regularly? Find the Best Floss for You<\/a><\/p>\n

    Please keep in mind that you may experience some slight discomfort when you first begin to floss regularly, but that should ease up within a week or two. However, if you are experiencing persistent pain or bleeding when you floss, please\u00a0make an appointment<\/a>\u00a0with Dr. Wolnik, or contact us:<\/p>\n

    Address<\/b>
    \n6363 York Rd, Ste 202
    \nParma Heights, OH 44130<\/p>\n

    Phone<\/b>
    \n(440) 888-5055<\/p>\n

    Email<\/b>
    \ninfo@drwolnik.com<\/p>\n

    Office Hours<\/b>
    \nMonday: 7:00am \u2013 4:00pm
    \nTuesday: 8:00am \u2013 5:00pm
    \nThursday: 8:00am \u2013 6:00pm
    \nFriday: 7:30am \u2013 1:00pm<\/p>\n

    Connect with Us!
    \n<\/b>    Facebook<\/a>
    \n    Twitter<\/a>
    \n    Google +<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    We\u2019ve all had our dentist tell us about the importance of flossing every day. Part of us knows we should be flossing every day, and after every dental appointment, we tell ourselves that from now on, we will! But there\u2019s also a part of us that wonders – is flossing really necessary? Do I really… Continue Reading ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[175,29,184,186],"tags":[191,190,35],"yoast_head":"\nDo I Really Need to Floss? | Parma Heights | Dr. Wolnik<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What's up with flossing? Do I really need to do it? Read great dental advice from Dr. Kenneth J. Wolnik in Parma Heights, Ohio.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/really-need-floss\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Do I Really Need to Floss? | Parma Heights | Dr. Wolnik\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What's up with flossing? Do I really need to do it? Read great dental advice from Dr. Kenneth J. Wolnik in Parma Heights, Ohio.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/really-need-floss\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dental Tips & Guides | Dr. Wolnik Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-12-09T21:30:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-07-31T14:31:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/photodune-1161370-man-flossing-his-teeth-xs-267x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dr. Kenneth J. Wolnik\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dr. Kenneth J. Wolnik\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/really-need-floss\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/really-need-floss\/\",\"name\":\"Do I Really Need to Floss? | Parma Heights | Dr. Wolnik\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-12-09T21:30:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-07-31T14:31:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/eee07400d7fdf266b510be0812fcd252\"},\"description\":\"What's up with flossing? Do I really need to do it? Read great dental advice from Dr. Kenneth J. Wolnik in Parma Heights, Ohio.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/really-need-floss\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/really-need-floss\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/really-need-floss\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Do I Really Need to Floss?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Dental Tips & Guides | Dr. Wolnik Blog\",\"description\":\"Want healthier teeth and gums? Interested in making your smile brighter? We have the tips and guides you need for the latest in dental care. Learn more today!\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/eee07400d7fdf266b510be0812fcd252\",\"name\":\"Dr. Kenneth J. Wolnik\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5196fb4353e3782ac03d805ddca50b72?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5196fb4353e3782ac03d805ddca50b72?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dr. Kenneth J. Wolnik\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Do I Really Need to Floss? | Parma Heights | Dr. Wolnik","description":"What's up with flossing? Do I really need to do it? Read great dental advice from Dr. Kenneth J. Wolnik in Parma Heights, Ohio.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/really-need-floss\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Do I Really Need to Floss? | Parma Heights | Dr. Wolnik","og_description":"What's up with flossing? Do I really need to do it? Read great dental advice from Dr. Kenneth J. Wolnik in Parma Heights, Ohio.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/really-need-floss\/","og_site_name":"Dental Tips & Guides | Dr. Wolnik Blog","article_published_time":"2013-12-09T21:30:03+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-07-31T14:31:29+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/photodune-1161370-man-flossing-his-teeth-xs-267x300.jpg"}],"author":"Dr. Kenneth J. Wolnik","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dr. Kenneth J. Wolnik","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/really-need-floss\/","url":"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/really-need-floss\/","name":"Do I Really Need to Floss? | Parma Heights | Dr. Wolnik","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-12-09T21:30:03+00:00","dateModified":"2016-07-31T14:31:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/eee07400d7fdf266b510be0812fcd252"},"description":"What's up with flossing? Do I really need to do it? Read great dental advice from Dr. Kenneth J. Wolnik in Parma Heights, Ohio.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/really-need-floss\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/really-need-floss\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/really-need-floss\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Do I Really Need to Floss?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/","name":"Dental Tips & Guides | Dr. Wolnik Blog","description":"Want healthier teeth and gums? Interested in making your smile brighter? We have the tips and guides you need for the latest in dental care. Learn more today!","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/eee07400d7fdf266b510be0812fcd252","name":"Dr. Kenneth J. Wolnik","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5196fb4353e3782ac03d805ddca50b72?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5196fb4353e3782ac03d805ddca50b72?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dr. Kenneth J. Wolnik"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.drwolnik.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":790,"href":"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98\/revisions\/790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drwolnik.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}