Healthy gums don’t bleed, and are not painful to floss at all.
I’m in my 30s and only recently learned flossing technique and got my gums healthy. Flossing used to take so long and always involved a lot of bleeding no matter how delicate I was.
These days I’m absolute savage with floss and interdental brushes and never have any blood or pain.
Once you get your gums healthy you’ll be disgusted at yourself for ever not flossing. The amount of disgusting I can floss out on an almost daily basis is insane.
Plus you’re breath will not smell gross anymore.
It’s worth committing to the habit of flossing. Trust me.
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the people at the dentist react as if you just killed a baby and then did a victory dance. It’s very uncomfortable ;)
I hate that!
They’ve got you strapped down into that chair naked with that thing in your mouth that forces you to smile while they all stare at you and chant “Shame. Shame. Shame…”
I really don’t know why I keep going back.
Leaving a comment, so that in 3 and a half years time when you develop a humiliation fetish, you can look back and think of me.
I don’t know where we’ll all be in 3.5 years but I know I’ll still think of you when I touch myself.
Beautiful, man. I’ll return the favour.
They’ve got you strapped down into that chair naked
Idk about you, but my clothes stay on at the dentist
Maybe they are seeing Dr. Spaceman.
I have the same problem and my hygienist has also said it’s difficult to floss my teeth. I rarely ever flossed. Then I got a water flosser and at the risk of sounding like an ad, it’s great. It’s not simply not bad; it’s actually pleasant. The next time I got my teeth cleaned after buying it, the hygienist said my gums were noticably healthier and she asked what I had done.
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I am unusual in that my teeth are very tightly spaced. An interdental brush is probably great for a lot of people, and I imagine it’s nicer than flossing if you can fit it between your teeth. I got a pretty basic $100 model. My only complaint is that it’s loud.
Maybe it’s time I got one of these. I forgot they even existed because everything just seems to be disposable floss these days. If I floss even gently my gums bleed so much I wake up with blood all through my mouth and throat. No matter how much I rinse.
Someone I know just got their teeth checked, first time in four years. The dentist was surprised at how clean and upkept their teeth were. They asked if he flossed his teeth and he said he has never done it in his life. They still shamed him.
It’s like dentist only know how to shame. I have yet to meet one that understands self-care is hard for people with ADHD/Autism. I’m doing by best and shame makes me give up.
Dental care is becoming a lot more compassionate with the newer generations of dentists. I’d recommend making a switch. Do a little shopping around and actually read the reviews on Google, etc. They’ll make it pretty clear who the good ones are.
I brush once in the morning and haven’t regularly flossed in years, somehow my teeth are in great shape. My dentist says I’m a freak of nature lol.
I have the exact same situation except I do it at night instead only once a day and my dentist (whom I really trust) says my teeth are better than 95% of people who walk into his office. Especially for my age… So yeah. Recently though I’ve been thinking I should at least start brushing twice a day if I am not going to floss at all.
I have never flossed regularly in my life because I can’t stand sticking my hands in my mouth.
My dental hygienist says I do an amazing job at flossing.
I use a water pik.
My dentist also told me I do a great job at flossing. I’ve never flossed or used a water pik in my life. I just nodded and quietly said “uh thanks”.
If I may ask, which water pik do you use?
I have the “waterpik water flosser” for myself, I’ve purchased the generic units off Amazon for friends and they seem to work just as well.
I’ve always hated flossing but the water pik is great… as long as the water is room temp. Horrendous when you accidentally fill it with cold water
I didn’t realize how uncomfortable my gums were until I started flossing. Now, if I don’t floss for a couple days, it feels straght-up gross.
Nice try dentist
Clearly Crentist at work.
Your dentist’s name is Crentist?
Yeah well, my teeth were so tight you couldn’t squeeze any floss through. My dentists generally refused to believe it and one insisted on demonstrating. After squeezing very hard, he finally succeeded getting the floss through, at which time the floss immediately broke. Zero flossing actually occurred, the dentist was embarrassed and confused, and pretended it didn’t happen, and made no comment about what else I should do, since I CLEARLY couldn’t floss. Only result was I had a piece of floss stuck, and It took me weeks to finally get rid of that frigging floss thread from between my teeth.
Quite frankly, I’m more than a little tired of reading mundane advise for people with normal teeth, who probably know this already.
Yes people who have ordinary teeth, can use this common and obvious advise.
I know someone who has this for decades, only to have it clear up - loosen up and become flossable - after they had their wisdom teeth removed.
Same - I could never understand interdental brushes. How the hell was I supposed to get that between my teeth when even I waxed floss won’t fit? So I gave up and now use an electric toothbrush +waterpick when I can be arsed. My dentist is more than happy so I guess I’m doing ok.
Agreed on the water pick. It’s really just a high powered stream of water, but not so powerful as to cut you. Although against delicate gums it may still cause bleeding like floss.
The bleeding goes away quicker with a water pick too
I later found out to flush thoroughly. It would have been great to have been advised on that 25 years ago, instead of the constant talk about flossing.
Flushing really is extremely efficient, I never tried a waterpick, but I’m guessing that’s even better.
same, and this will compound as less flossing leads to tartar build-up, which makes flossing/brushing even harder.
On another note, get a waterpick, its a life changer!
In case you (nor the dentist) haven’t tried, there’s also flat floss that’s like a strip of paper. Oral B Satin Floss is one that is available where I live. Hope it might be of help!
It was the flat one he used, and yes I’ve tries with the Oral B Satin too. Apart from not working for me, it doesn’t seem to be able to do much cleaning even if it did.
I flush or rinse whatever it’s called instead. That works fine for me.
Best motivation to floss? Do it once and smell the floss string after, our mouths are truly vile.
It’s kinda disgustingly satisfying when you pull gunk out. Then to think I never used to floss and that gunk used to just stay there…. 🤢
“Take care of your teeth” is my go-to “old person’s advice to young people.” Once you realize that dentists can’t really “fix” (as in permanently fix) most problems with your teeth (that you get one set for your whole life), that 5-10 minutes a day to take care of them doesn’t seem like so much.
Seriously, once you have a cavity, there’s a pretty good chance that tooth will eventually become a crown or implant. Once a tooth cracks, it will eventually get worse and have to go. Dentistry is mostly preventative, and for the most part they can really only apply a band-aid to serious problems.
Seriously please go to the dentist and take care of your teeth. My parents stopped taking me to the dentist when I was 16 and I didn’t return till I was 30. I had developed a massive anxiety over it and couldn’t even look at myself in the mirror because I was terrified to look into my mouth. I got off relatively lucky but for the love of God go to the dentist
This comment hit hard, I know that feeling of looking in the mirror and being afraid to open my mouth. I went yesterday for the first time in over 10 years. I felt so much shame and anxiety, I didn’t sleep well for 2 nights leading up to the visit, but boy do I feel better now. Considering it had been so long the news wasn’t as bad as I was expecting, and it was not as painful as i thought it would be (my last visit was not pleasant) Now that i’m over that hump, i’ll be going back much more frequently and will be more diligent with my oral hygene. I wish I had done it sooner. Seriously, for those in a similar situation, just go to the dentist and set things right before it’s too late.
Awesome job mate. I went through a similar stage with my depression. It takes courage to pull yourself out of situations like that so make sure you appreciate yourself.
Oh dear. How do I make my 13yo understand that, who doesn’t seem to care?
Show them this video and tell them this is what happens when you neglect your teeths. https://libreddit.domain.glass/r/popping/comments/py6qlw/teeth_cleaning_i_feel_this_was_the_most/
Nearly nobody will get a mouth that bad if they at least care to look at their teeths from time to time and have a basic hygiene, both dietary and oral.
But to at least get them interested, this video does the work really well.
(The video shows removal of a massive plaque of tartar. So I don’t recommend anyone uncomfortable, with looking at the inside of mouths and with seeing some bleeding, to watch this video)
The best 3D printer we know of is biology. Until we can grow a new tooth from some science broth, prevention is imperative. Even once we do, it’ll take a while to catch up to nature.
That and for the price to come down to where mere mortals and/or folks with decent dental insurance can afford it!
From many dental visits, pared down:
Brush light, floss hard. Some minor bleeding from flossing, weirdly, is actually ok. Just go easy on that spot until it’s not sore anymore, then ease into going hard again. These two things are mostly what will make getting poked with all that metal shit not bother you so much.
You only need to floss at night. You aren’t putting food in your mouth while you sleep.
Electric toothbrushes are legit improvements, not gimmicks. Get one if you can.
Dentists here (UK) stopped recommending flossing years ago. IIRC they actively discourage you from flossing. Instead the recommend interdental brushes
My biggest impediment before to flossing was just the time it took. I always held off on flossing until the end of brushing, my “routine” was to brush, then floss, BUT oftentimes I’d just brush first, consider it good enough and then just skip the flossing because, hey I already brushed, I’m good, right? Mentally I was done with the whole thing as soon as I finished brushing.
So I switched the order around and I floss first now, which seems to work better. I’m not actually “done” with brushing until I brush, so once I floss I can’t just skip the brushing part. It’s a small change, but it’s helped me keep up a better routine.
I just grab a floss pick, go sit in front of my computer, and floss while distracting myself with something else. That way I don’t have to devote any focus or effort to flossing and it goes by much easier.
Same, floss at my desk on autopilot 99% of the time.
Picked up the habit during corona times.
I’m team subconscious flossing as well
I’ve done my best to make flossing with a pick a family affair while watching TV after dinner.
More or less works as routine for SOME PEOPLE who don’t enjoy dental hygiene lol.
A water flosser takes 30 seconds. (I’m in this thread shilling for water flossers.)
I like to use a floss pick, then waterpik, then electric toothbrush.
Floss, irrigate, then brush
This is the way
I have one sitting around, but I just really couldn’t get into it, it just felt so… unnatural. Maybe they’re supposed to be better than normal flossing, but it’s never felt right for me.
I had to go to an unscheduled dentist visit once to remove some floss that was stuck between my molars. So much pain, and so much relief once they were able to remove it.
Might be a silly question but couldn’t you just use floss to remove a stuck piece of floss? That’s what I do when it shreds and gets stuck.
Believe me, I tried. I couldn’t get the floss between those teeth. The hygienist also had a lot of difficulty. It stopped being a problem several years later when I had a root canal on one of those problem teeth.
Use Pro-Glide waxed floss. Doesn’t get stuck like the cheap stuff
If you have trouble flossing, I highly recommend this. IIRC it’s made of nylon and it’s soooo much smoother than ordinary waxed floss. Think of it as easy mode.
However, I do recommend going back to regular waxed floss if and when you can do so comfortably. It’s more abrasive, and thus more effective at actually removing residue. So said my hygienist, and after switching back to regular waxed, I understand why. I can literally see the difference in how much comes out on the floss.
Of course, talk to your dentist and follow their advice over a random internet stranger. And either way, do not let perfect be the enemy of good. Do whatever you need to do to get in the habit of flossing every day. I don’t think I could have cemented my habit of flossing if I hadn’t picked up the nylon floss at first.
This was over 20 years ago so I don’t remember what kind I had then. But definitely go for the waxed floss now.
Keeping a steady flossing habit has always been a struggle for me. This inspired me to give it another go. Thanks!
Kind of a peripheral to this there are specialized toothpastes that I feel like a lot of people don’t know about. I had some gum issues that also made flossing uncomfortable. My dentist recommended Crest Gum Detoxify which, when used along with regular flossing, got my gums right real fast. Basically one 6 month cleaning period of using the toothpaste and flossing regularly and now my gums don’t bother me. Now I use two toothpastes. Gum detox in the morning and flossing with regular toothpaste in the evening. No more gum problems.
Or if you’re a neurodivergent with sensory sensitivities :'D
What?
I’ve never really flossed. Every time I go to the dentist they say I have otherwise perfect teeth and gums for my age. But I also don’t drink soft drink or alcohol, smoke, eat junk food or sweets and have basically never done so. Pretty much everything I eat is organic.
I use a good electric toothbrush though, so generally it feels like it should be enough. If I floss even as gently as I can my gums just bleed like crazy and there’s barely any space to move it around my teeth. If I do it at night I just wake up dried with blood all in my mouth.
EDIT: I have been thinking though about getting a water flosser or whatever they are called. At least to remove any debris the electric toothbrush missed, without (hopefully) the damage and bloody mess I get with floss string.
Electric toothbrush makes my teeth feel soo much cleaner than a regular one - I used to have lots of cavities due to having extra sets of “inaccessible” teeth behind my wisdom teeth, and even got a prescription toothpaste with extra fluor. But now it’s all a breeze keeping them properly cleaned (I do need to use dental sticks with a small brush between every meal though).
Well, clearly you should be flossing more if you bleed like that. I’ve used ultrasonic toothbrushes for over a decade and still ended up with cavities starting in-between my teeth because of my lack of flossing.
Something that helped me start flossing regularly was buying the really large spools of the better quality floss and a reusable dispenser. It’s a lot easier to make a habit of something when you don’t run out of it on the regular.
Get a floss pick at the smallest available size. They look like little toothpicks but are made of rubber and have little bristles that will massage your gums.
