How to Floss Teeth

Guide Note Although it only takes a few minutes a day, flossing your teeth can go a long way toward keeping your smile bright and improving the health of your teeth and gums. Our guide, How to Floss Teeth, will show you the proper way to use the dental tool and provide tips on using floss and floss alternatives around dental work like braces, crowns and implants.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Step 1: Select the Dental Floss
• Step 2: Floss Teeth
  • Regular Flossing
  • Flossing with Dental Work
  • Flossing with Braces
• Step 3: Consider Floss Alternatives
• Conclusion
• References

Teeth Flossing Tips

1. Use about 18 inches of floss and wind the ends around your middle fingers for stability.
2. Pinch the floss between your thumbs and index fingers to keep it taut as you work.
3. Gently insert the floss between upper teeth by pressing with your thumbs.
4. Insert the floss between lower teeth by pressing with your index fingers.
5. Work the floss gently below the gumline, forming a "c" shape to clean the sides of each tooth.
6. Try using superfloss to clean around implants, below bridges or between widely spaced teeth.
7. Use a floss threader to help use floss around braces.
8. Floss picks can help kids and adults with poor fine motor skills clean between teeth.

Disclaimer The content in this page is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please contact your dentist before using the information presented here.

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Introduction

• If you typically break out the dental floss a few days before your annual checkup, you may want to add it to your daily routine.¹ Not only does it help you clean the sides of your teeth and the spaces between them, but according to WebMD, flossing may even add more than six years to your lifespan.^{2 3} Created by a New Orleans dentist in 1815, floss is easy to use properly once you learn a few simple techniques.⁴

Step 1: Select the Dental Floss

• With different flavors, thicknesses and coatings, there's a type of dental floss to suit your preferences and the configuration of your teeth. Whatever one you choose, be sure it has the American Dental Association (ADA) seal of approval. It ensures that the ADA Council of Scientific Affairs considers it a safe and proven way to reduce plaque and gingivitis.⁵

1. 

   (Creative Commons photo by robertdx)
   Unwaxed: While the thin nylon yarn fits between particularly close teeth, it can fray or snap easily.⁶
2. Waxed: Coated with a layer of wax, this floss is ideal if you need help sliding it along the surface of your teeth.⁷
   • -For a refreshing feel, consider mint-flavored waxed floss.⁷
3. Dental Tape: Available in waxed and unwaxed versions, dental tape is wide and flat, perfect for flossing between teeth with more space between them.⁸
4. Superfloss: Superfloss is a multi-use floss that features joined segments of regular floss, thicker spongy floss and a stiff tip that helps slide the floss through gaps in teeth or dental work like a fixed bridge.⁹

• Note: The ADA doesn't recommend rinsing and reusing floss since it will be less effective and possibly introduce bacteria to your mouth.¹⁰

Step 2: Floss Teeth

• The ADA suggests flossing once a day, preferably before brushing to help the toothpaste's fluoride reach tight spots.¹¹ Choose the flossing method that's most comfortable for you.

Regular Flossing

• Spool Method

1. Cut 18 inches of dental floss from the container.¹²
2. Twist the floss around the middle finger on each hand.¹³
3. Pinch the floss on each side between your thumbs and index fingers to keep it taut.¹⁴
4. Guide the floss between your teeth with the tips of your index fingers.¹⁵
   • -Try to use a slow sawing motion so the floss doesn't cut into your gums.¹⁶
   • -Curve the floss around each tooth to clean the sides, going gently below the gumline.¹⁴
   • -Work away from the gums, moving the floss up and down to free it from your teeth.¹⁴
5. Move the floss to ensure you clean each tooth with a new, clean segment.¹⁵
6. Repeat the flossing process for every tooth, including the backs of the last teeth.¹²
   • 
     
     
   • YouTube: Flossing Tutorial (Time: 2:38)

• Loop Method

1. Cut an 18-inch piece of dental floss.¹⁷
2. Knot the floss' ends together so you've got a secure circle.¹⁸
3. Grab the circle with both hands, holding a small length between your thumbs and index fingers.¹⁹
4. Use your index fingers to gently press the floss between your bottom teeth.²⁰
5. Use your thumbs to press the floss between your upper teeth.²¹
6. Gently guide the floss below the gumline.¹⁸
7. Create a "C" shape with the floss to help clean the sides of each tooth.²⁰

• Note: Teach the loop method to children or adults with arthritis or poor muscle coordination since it makes the floss easier to hold and control.²¹

Flossing with Dental Work

1. Crowns: When flossing around crowns, slide the floss out from between your teeth instead of lifting it out. The motion can possibly jar the crown loose, particularly if it's a temporary.²²
2. Fixed Bridges: Clean fixed bridges with super floss, using the stiff end to thread the floss under the bridge.²³
   • -Pull the spongy portion of the floss between the gums and the bridge to eliminate any food or buildup.²³
   • -Carefully pull the floss out from under the bridge.²³
3. Dental Implants: Floss around the implant posts with the teeth removed.²⁴
   • -Try a floss threader to guide the floss through the gaps between the posts.²⁵

Flossing with Braces

1. Use waxed dental floss since unwaxed floss will easily shred on the braces' brackets.²⁶
   • -Consider using a floss threader or the stiff end of superfloss to guide the floss under the braces' archwires.²⁷
2. Gently push the floss toward the gumline and pull it away from the gums, repeating the motion about five times.²⁸
   • -Be careful not to pull too hard on the way down, which will put pressure on the braces' wire.²⁸
3. Use clean sections of the floss as you clean between different pairs of teeth.²⁷
   • 
     
     
   • YouTube: Flossing with Braces (Time: 1:31)

Step 3: Consider Floss Alternatives

• If you're unable to use traditional lengths of dental floss to clean between your teeth, consider these alternatives to simplify the process.

1. Floss Pick: Considered dental floss with a handle, floss picks can help children or adults with poor motor skills clean between their teeth. Battery-operated versions or those with picks on the other end that you can use to remove food particles are also available. ^{29 30}
2. Interdental Brushes: With the appearance of miniature bottle brushes, interdental brushes are covered with nylon fibers can be used to clean around implants or gently pushed between teeth spaced widely apart.³¹
3. End Tuft Brushes: Featuring nylon bristles sticking straight out of a plastic handle, end tuft brushes can be inserted to clean between widely spaced teeth by using a motion similar to using a paintbrush.³²
   • -End-tuft brushes can be helpful for adults who have trouble controlling the more flexible interdental brushes.³¹
4. Tip Stimulator: The rubber tips often found at the end of toothbrushes, tip stimulators can be used to massage gums or remove food particles and plaque.³³
5. Water Pick: Although water picks, which shoot streams of water between your teeth, can help remove large particles, they may not clean the tight spaces between your teeth or along your gums.³⁰
   • 
     
     
   • YouTube: How to Maintain Healthy Teeth (Time: 2:22)
   • 
     
     
   • YouTube: Flossing Alternatives: Inter-Dental Devices (Time: 2:47)

Conclusion

• A little flossing definitely goes a long way toward improving your oral health. Bear in mind that your gums may bleed a little if you haven't been flossing regularly. Your gums should heal in five or six days and the bleeding should stop.¹ Be sure to consult your dentist or orthodontist if you continue to experience problems with your teeth, gums or flossing technique.

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References for How to Floss Teeth

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} AARP: Brush and Floss Regularly for Good Oral Health
2. ↑ Mayo Clinic: Dental Floss Vs. Water Pick
3. ↑ WebMD: Healthy Habits No. 6: Practice Good Dental Hygiene
4. ↑ Dentists.org: What's So Important about Dental Floss?
5. ↑ American Dental Association: How Does the ADA Evaluate Floss?
6. ↑ Everyday Health: Unwaxed Floss
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Tooth Club: Floss Coating
8. ↑ Everyday Health: Dental Tape
9. ↑ Tooth Club: Superfloss
10. ↑ American Dental Association: Can I Rinse and Reuse Floss?
11. ↑ American Dental Association: When's The Best Time to Floss?
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1} American Dental Association: How Do I Floss My Teeth?
13. ↑ Oral B: Flossing 101: Tone Your Technique
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1 14.2} Colgate: How to Floss: Flossing Tips  
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1} American Dental Hygienists' Association: Proper Flossing
16. ↑ Dentistry.com: The Right Way to Floss
17. ↑ Your Total Health: Loop (or circle) Method  
18. ↑ ^{18.0 18.1} Yale Medical Group: Flossing Methods: Loop Method
19. ↑ Revolution Health: Circle Method for Using Dental Floss
20. ↑ ^{20.0 20.1} John Hopkins Medicine: Flossing Methods for Adults: Loop Method
21. ↑ ^{21.0 21.1} Academy of General Dentistry: How Should I Floss?
22. ↑ Web MD: How Should I Care for My Temporary Dental Crown?
23. ↑ ^{23.0 23.1 23.2} Tooth Club: Fixed Bridge Cleaning
24. ↑ Dental Implants of Long Island: Maintenance of Dental Implants
25. ↑ Everyday Health: Floss Threader
26. ↑ Orthodontics.org: Flossing
27. ↑ ^{27.0 27.1} Dr. Miller Orthodontics: Flossing
28. ↑ ^{28.0 28.1} Northside Orthodontics: Flossing
29. ↑ Oral B: Flossers: Oral Care Made Easier
30. ↑ ^{30.0 30.1} Oral B: Get Picky About Flossing: Try a Floss Pick
31. ↑ ^{31.0 31.1} Dimensions of Dental Hygiene: Floss Alternatives: Interdental Brushes
32. ↑ Everyday Health: End-tufted Brushes
33. ↑ Everyday Health: Tip Stimulator

Additional Tooth Flossing Videos

• You Tube: How to Floss Your Teeth (Time: 2:19)
• You Tube: How to Floss Your Teeth (Time: 1:53)
• You Tube: How to Floss Properly (Time: 2:30)