Flossed Out: How to Keep Your Teeth Clean

By Natalie Kozakiewicz

Do you know the dirtiest area of your body? Inside your mouth! The bacteria in your mouth is so powerful that it produces acids that attack and break down your teeth and gums.

Most of us were taught in elementary school that it’s important to brush, eat right and floss to prevent cavities, yellow teeth, bad breath and gum disease. Still, we often ignore this advice because we’re young. It’s hard to imagine that our teeth will rot and fall out years from now if we don’t take care of them today.

Advertising tells us we can have healthy teeth without spending any time to keep them that way. Listerine’s label says it is “as effective as floss.” At first, I believed this! But I researched this claim and found that while mouthwashes may kill off some bacteria, only flossing prevents gum disease, which can make your teeth fall out and your breath stink. If you’re pregnant, gum disease can make it more likely that you’ll miscarry or deliver your baby early. Gum disease can even kill you. How? By setting off blood clots that lead to stroke and heart attacks.

Liquids can’t get out the leftover food and bacteria stuck between the teeth. If that stuff is left in there, the bacteria multiply and eventually you get gingivitis—the first stage of gum disease. Also, flossing takes off plaque and prevents your teeth from yellowing. When I learned how important flossing was, I decided I didn’t want to get gum disease or wind up spending thousands of dollars on fillings, crowns, oral surgery and even implants or dentures. So I started flossing every day.

Now I won’t even date anyone who doesn’t floss. My mouth and teeth are too clean to kiss a bacteria-infested mouth. Let me give you the 411 on oral hygiene 101:

1. Brush After Every Meal, or, at the minimum, every morning after breakfast and every night before you go to bed, with a toothpaste that contains fluoride. Use a soft-bristled brush, and brush your teeth at an angle. Use back-and-forth and round motions, getting all sides and chewing surfaces, including the back side of your last molars. Finally, brush your tongue to remove bacteria and freshen breath. Spend at least two full minutes brushing your teeth. Buy a new toothbrush every three months.

2. Try to Floss after Every Meal, but if you can’t, at least floss at the end of every single day. Here’s how: Pull off about 18 inches of floss, and use it to form a “C” shape on your tooth. Gently rub it up and down the side of each tooth, making sure you don’t ram your gums. Instead, go gently between the gum and the tooth. Do every side of every single tooth.

3. Get Your Teeth Deep-cleaned Professionally every six months and see a dentist regularly to keep your cavities filled and teeth healthy. If you’ve aged out and can’t afford a dentist, check out the dental schools at universities near you. Dental schools have programs where a student who is supervised by a teacher can give you dental care. Celebrities have made teeth bleaching popular, but before you decide to do it, you should ask your dentist. Your teeth might be too sensitive to tolerate bleaching. Now smile!

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