We’ve been talking a lot recently about the importance of flossing, not only for our oral health but for whole body health as well. We also recently discussed a detailed analysis of what are the best flosses on the market as well as why we are not fans of flosser picks.
However, there are some circumstances where flossing may not be the best option for you.
So, to determine if flossing is right for you, let’s first do a quick review of why flossing is such a helpful part of the path to optimal oral health.
The microorganisms implicated with gum disease, what we commonly call ‘thug bugs’ are opportunistic. Essentially, the thug bugs breakdown the structure of the mouth (gum tissue and underlying bone tissue).
The reason we say thug bugs are opportunistic is because they can and do live in the mouths of people who don’t show signs of gum disease, however their numbers are not sufficient to do damage. Thug bugs are only trouble when the host immune system (that’s us) is diminished sufficiently that the thug bugs can really ramp up their numbers and colonize the gum line.
Fundamentally, it’s the job of our immune systems to keep the thug bugs in check and maintain a high enough expression of our immunity to keep the thug bugs from colonizing our mouths. (If you want to learn more about the foundational role that our immune system plays in helping us get out of harm’s way from gum disease and tooth decay as well as many other ‘non mouth’ ailments, check out our free video tutorial series, the 5 steps to a healthy mouth.)
With the importance of immune response in place, there is much we can do ‘in the mouth’ to help reduce the risk of thug bugs colonizing our gum lines.
Dr CC Bass established 100 years ago that the ‘in the mouth’ approach to stopping thug bugs is to disrupt and disorganize the bad bug’s effort to organize and colonize the gum line. (click here to learn more about Dr Bass and his awesome brushes)
As an important side note, this is why calculus/tartar is so detrimental… Over time, thug bugs build calculus up as protective cover to keep us from being able to disrupt and disorganize their health undermining efforts so they can destroy the health of the whole body without being ‘bothered’ by us.
Ok, so far we’ve established that the vital expression of the immune response is fundamental. We’ve also established that the way to help stop thug bugs in the mouth is to disrupt and disorganize them on a regular basis.
Flossing is so helpful because it easily disrupts and disorganizes thug bugs.
Flossing is an easy way to regularly disrupt and disorganize thug bugs along AND under the gum line.
Where mouthwash only gets 1mm under the gum line and a toothbrush only gets 2mm, floss provides the ability to easily disrupt thug bugs up to 4mm under the gum line. And if we apply the strategies we teach called conscious flossing, we add even more benefit to this easy oral hygiene strategy.
So, when is flossing not the best strategy?
There are three main times that flossing may not be your best option to disrupt and disorganize thug bugs. The problem with flossing is it requires quite a bit of manual dexterity in order to floss effectively.
The last thing any of us wants to occur is for us to think we are doing good for the body (in this case by flossing) but not realize that the job we commonly do isn’t achieving the results we seek.
Two situations where the ability to manually perform flossing well are both when the person may not have the manual dexterity to floss effectively. After all, flossing does require a lot of detailed application of hand skill. The third situation is in the case of braces.
Who should consider other methods than flossing…
1. Physically handicapped or impaired person:
If we don’t have the manual coordination or control to be able to have steady hands and perform flossing effectively, using floss probably isn’t in our best interest as we could cause more harm than good.
2. Young children:
Yes, we want to teach our kids how to floss well. However, we also don’t want them developing the false understanding that the flossing they do when they are 3 is ‘enough’ to perform optimal flossing technique.
Perhaps try allowing any youngsters near you to practice while you floss so they can develop the habit. However, we really like the following strategy for kids and those challenged with physical limitations.
3. Anyone with braces:
Yeah, you can floss with braces, but if you think flossing in general is tedious, just imagine having to work floss between the teeth while having metal all over the place.
The Solution to Not Flossing
The literature showing the power to disrupt and disorganize thug bugs via a flow of water has been proven over and over again for decades. While the proper term for these devices is an oral irrigator, most of us call them by their common brand names, Waterpik or Hydrofloss.
An oral irrigator is a wonderful solution for the physically impaired person and young kids as well as the person with braces. In fact, we consider habitual oral irrigation to be a super awesome idea for any child. It’s fun, doesn’t require lots of dexterity, and is very, very helpful.
One word of caution however…
Every oral irrigator we’ve tried over the years allows for the user to set the water pressure WAY too high for our comfort or for our health for that matter. The problem goes like this…
~ We find out about thug bugs and get kind of freaked out that we have a microscopic war zone in our mouths.
~ We hear that using a Waterpik will help to disrupt and disorganize the thug bugs.
~ So (here’s the fatal assumption) we figure that using the Waterpik on high pressure will be even better to blast the thug bugs from our gum pockets.
It’s not. It’s downright unhealthy for our whole bodies if we use Waterpiks on a high pressure setting. In fact, if we use oral irrigators on a really high setting we run the risk of actually pushing the thug bugs INTO our bloodstream (bad news) causing what is known as bacteremia.
We are trying to disrupt tiny bacterial colonies, not pressure wash grime off our driveways. 🙂
So, the solution is to keep the setting on LOW. If your dial has a 1-10 scale, please no higher than a 3 or 4.
“What if I don’t have an oral irrigator?”
You can do quite a bit of good with the simple technique of vigorously swishing water in your mouth. The key here is vigor. I mean, give your neck, throat, jaw and face muscles a workout for 30 seconds vigorously swishing water around your mouth. If you’d like to read about another excellent oral hygiene strategy similar to this, here’s a link to an article on oil pulling.
Even better than water would be to swish your own saliva around your mouth! That way, you are also providing your teeth an excellent ‘REmineralizing bath’ with all the minerals naturally in saliva to repair any surface enamel loss. If you’d like to learn more about this simple (free) solution, here’s a link to our video on ‘Mouth Probiotics’.
In the end, whatever strategies you choose to apply to disrupt and disorganize thug bugs in your mouth, do them regularly. The little time it takes for some well chosen oral hygiene strategies not only helps us have fresher breath and a brighter smile, but supports our whole system immune response as well.
What about you? Do you use an oral irrigator? If so, how have you benefited from using it?
Ready to take an easy step toward a healthier mouth? Download our FREE eBook “How to stop tooth decay and remineralize your teeth” today!
Related, helpful resources:
How to stop tooth decay and remineralize your teeth [free eBook]
Does Flossing Really Lower My Risk of a Heart Attack? [article]
What’s the Best Floss on the Market and Why? [article]
4 Reasons Why Flosser Picks are NOT a Healthy Option [article]
5 Steps to a Healthy Mouth [[FREE video course]]
How to Brush Your Teeth to Reduce Gum Disease [article and video]
What is Conscious Flossing? [article]
How oil pulling helps improve oral health and whole body wellness [article]
Mouth Probiotics [video tutorial]
Photo courtesy of WebMD
As a Dentist I always recommend my patients to floss their teeth
The way flossing helps is by removing the biofilm on our teeth, if we remove that “plaque” you are taking aways the basis bacteria use to stay on our teeth
Greetings from Caracas, Venezuela
I have patients all of the time who complain about having to floss their children’s teeth. And I don’t blame them. It is similar to trying to hold on to a slippery fish out of water. I think using the oral irrigator on children is a great idea. And DEFINITELY, make sure you don’t have the setting on too high for the little one’s gums are way more sensitive.
My teeth are so tight [at over 50], that it is impossible to use a gentle approach to flossing. Getting floss between my teeth takes so much pulling and strength, I worry about losing finger tips! Nightly, I end up with cut gums as the floss finally pops between my teeth.
So maybe an oral irrigator would be a vast improvement for gums/fingers AND do a better job of getting the bad bugs.
Thanks for this article!
It was so helpful. I wish you all the best.
It would be good to always keep in mind that the animals never brush or floss. Neither do most of the people in the world, now or historically. They don’t need to.
Brushing and flossing, IMHO, are crutches that are necessary for people who are living crippling lifestyles with one or more of the following components: SAD diet, sedentary, dishonest, promiscuous, negative.
I think Will and Susan make the point that oral health and whole body health are intertwined, and we need to look at causes. This is true even while we are still on crutches – as I am.
Well put Jonathan.
Agreed that oral hygiene habits are ‘stop gaps’ for a less than ideal set up for optimal oral health.
We like to say that we approach oral health issues from ‘two angles’, an ‘in the mouth’ approach and a ‘system wide immune’ approach. Anytime we can make changes on a broad level, the changes are going to be more long lasting. However, there’s no harm in offering ‘in the mouth’ support so we can stop the damage locally too.
The myth that we are here to help clarify is this notion that you can ONLY treat oral health issues in the mouth. Or, put another way, that oral health is only in the mouth. It’s kind of a crazy point that we have to bring up, but, in case anyone reading this hadn’t noticed recently, the mouth is intricately connected to the rest of the body. 🙂
We hope this helps…
Right, but have you ever looked at an old dog’s teeth? Hint: it’s not pretty.
Animals also don’t use soap or take showers, yet I don’t think skipping it is good advice ^^
Water flossing is great, makes my teeth feel cleaner than ever.
After reviewing most of them I bought Jet Pik’s JP50 model, a bit of a hybrid irrigator that also uses cartridges of actual string floss, so you get the best of both worlds.
I found diluting a bit of mouthwash into the water tank makes it even better. My teeth used to bleed when flossing, not anymore.
Also, a lot of animals have an instinctual drive to kill their own children along with a number of other behaviors humans would not like to model.
In addition, I believe in other articles the OraWellness team discusses the changes in the soil health which perhaps make it impossible for anyone living in most places on earth now (other than biodynamically regenerative agriculturally managed land) to achieve a nutritious enough diet to forgo modern oral hygiene techniques.
In other words, even if one was to practice the “perfect” duet with phytic acid, sugars, or any of the other “anti-nutrients” which harm oral health, it likely still would not be enough for some people without the nutrient density present in our ancestral soils…
Even if you don’t like flossing, I do think you should at least try it. I remember where I didn’t like it but I eventually got used to it. I’ve also noticed an increase in my dental health since I started doing it regularly. With small kids, they may not like it at first, but once you get them going they should keep that habit for life.
I too have a hard time using regular floss on my back teeth. Several years ago, instead of buying a WaterPik, we got an Oral Breeze – RediBreeze Oral Irrigator http://oralbreeze.com/collections/products/products/oral-breeze-redibreeze-oral-irrigator#shopify-product-reviews
It attaches to your faucet and works really well.
That’s a good point that flossing is difficult with braces. Maybe I should get my kid an oral irrigator. I’ll just have to make sure that they don’t turn the pressure up too high. The goal is to keep the mouth healthy, not push too hard.
I am considering a water flosser, so I really appreciate the tip about setting the pressure to low.
Any advice of how effective/safe the Sonicare Airfloss is? It has very mixed ratings. Has anyone used this type of flosser?
Aloha John,
Thank you for stopping by to post your question to our readers.
We don’t have any personal experience with the product you mention. I wonder if anyone else here can offer John some advice?
Thanks again for stopping by John! Please let us know how you like it if you end up getting one!
What about the pocket applicator that you sell? Can that be used instead of a waterpik?
Aloha John,
Thanks for stopping by to ask! Yeah, the pocket applicator can definitely be used in place of a waterpik. A waterpik is just an easier tool to use and is more ‘outside’ the mouth than the pocket applicator which is more designed to address issues at the base of gum pockets rather than more shallow issues like a waterpik would naturally address.
I hope that helps.
Aloha!
Hi Will , what should we use with the top applicator then , to floss? Just plain water ? Mouthwash ?
Hi Sophie,
Thanks for reaching out.
Please restate your question. I’m not getting what you mean and I’ll do my best to address your question.
So a couple of weeks ago my dentist told me I had to get a cavity filled and my heart sunk because I got 3 or 4 filled about 5 years ago. I never thought I would have to go through with it again as long as I maintained good oral hygiene. I have never told my dentist that I have dexterity issues when it comes to flossing because I find it embarrassing. I also don’t want to use a Waterpik if it is going to be messy and I can’t see what I’m doing I don’t want to increase the risk of bad bugs getting into my bloodstream. But, I think I’m doing more harm than good when I’m flossing.
Are electric flossers any good? You say swishing with water, oil pulling or swishing with our saliva is good, but is that to replace flossing if we have dexterity issues? Why don’t dentists recommend these techniques?
Aloha Dreya,
Thank you for sharing your story with us!
If you feel compromised in your ability to floss due to dexterity challenges, then a water flosser is a great tool for you! Just be sure to keep the pressure at a pretty low setting. We don’t need to blast the bad bugs out of our gum pockets, just a gentle stream is sufficient! 🙂
Oil pulling, swishing with water, etc are all helpful. However, sometimes we need something more manual to get in between the teeth. So, a water flosser or even an interdental pick (proxybrush) can be very helpful.
I only recently learned why flossing was important when I was talking to my dentist. My whole life I’ve flossed (okay, most of my life I’ve flossed) without understanding why it’s so important, but like you say, it gets at those nasty bugs in the gums. Since learning that, I’m even more dedicated to proper flossing. Sure, it’s an annoyance at night when I just want to go to sleep, but I’m convinced it’s worth it if it means good teeth.
I’ve never used a Waterpick because my family didn’t get one until my younger brother needed to have braces a second time. Yeah, we can discuss the importance of retainers another time. I find it strange that so many adults struggle to floss regularly. Don’t get me wrong, I hate it as much as anyone, but we all know that we are supposed to floss as regularly as we brush our teeth. Fortunately, there are more options, like oral irrigators, to make sure our dental health doesn’t suffer.
speed for waterpik should be 4 even when using the orthodontic tip? just curios here, i might be exagerating a bit…..
Great question! I’d suggest a low setting in general. Is the orthodontic tip designed to ‘blow’ debris from between braces? If so, it makes sense to be willing to turn up the pressure a bit. Just be sure that anytime you head toward the gum line, that you turn the pressure way back down.
I hope that helps!
Hi,
Do you recommend any irrigator to use the hole family?
Aloha Nieves! 🙂
I’m planning on writing on this very subject really soon! It really depends on whether your family will take to a new routine of using an irrigator in addition to brushing at the sink. Stay tuned! I’ll get it published really soon! 🙂
Thanks for asking!
I found a 15 oz. Lavoris Whitening Rinse at the $ Tree store with hydrogen peroxide (also a little xylitol, which my dentist had said was helpful). Instructions are to rinse with 1/2 oz. (1 tablespoon) twice a day for 30 seconds before brushing, taking care not to swallow any of the rinse. I rinse it out thoroughly with plain water. I have also tried oil pulling with coconut oil, instructions to spit out all of the pulled oil.
I like to use a Reach/Listerine flosser on a stick in order to get to all those tricky places in the back. Mint flavor is very tasty.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing!
Aggressive swishing with 100% hydrogen peroxide, directing pressure to problem areas.
Steve
Aloha Steve,
Thanks for sharing your experience here! For anyone reading this, please (PLEASE) be cautious when using hydrogen peroxide. While lower concentrations are a wonderful addition to an oral hygiene routine, stronger concentrations (even 3% in our opinion) may be too strong for some mouths.
There are studies that show that using peroxide in the mouth at too high of concentrations can cause lesions in the cheek and gum tissue. This is heading in the wrong direction from our perspective. Also, peroxide can increase tooth sensitivity. Please use with awareness and be conservative when using hydrogen peroxide in the mouth. We encourage a 1.5% solution or less for regular use. Simply dilute peroxide with water 50/50 at least.
We hope that helps.
Thank you and Aloha!
Excellent point, Will & Susan.
Often “less is better.”
We bought a quart bottle of food grade 29% H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) years ago at a local health food store. We dilute it 20:1 easily by eyeball to what we want in a small child’s flip-top drinking bottle. That’s on the bathroom sink for easy access when we are brushing and GPS (gum pocket syringing), as well as hot water swishing with home-made, high sea-salt remineralizing powder.
Working on developing the habit you suggest of frequent swishing with nature’s remineralizing mouthwash.
Thanks for all you do.
My water pick doesn’t have a pressure setting. How do I know if the pressure is to high?
Hmm, good question Ashley! I’ve never had a water pick without a pressure dial. I suggest you use it with conscious awareness and caution knowing that if the pressure is too high, damage can be caused.
Thanks for stopping by to ask!
If it wasn’t so messy, I’d use a Waterpik but anytime I’ve tried it, it gets all over the place. Unless I keep my mouth closed but that makes it hard to see where the water is going except to guess. I hate flossing especially because it doesn’t get the stuff off the gumline and it doesn’t even do a great job at flossing just in between the teeth either.
A few years ago, to try to fix this problem, I got one that attached to the shower hose but even then, it didn’t do a good job of getting stuff out/from gumline. I’d run my finger tips along it and see whitish stuff come off (plaque? tartar?). So I don’t know what to do except floss and use my finger to run along the gunlime to remove what brusing and flossing failed to. Wish there was a better way. I’ve read a lot of mixed reviews about Air floss and how messy it is so I’ve been reluctant to waste my money to try it.
Aloha Kyung,
I hear you on the ‘collateral damage’ of the water spray from a water pick! 🙂
Incidentally, keeping your mouth closed is a fine strategy because it also forces you to pay more attention and feel where you are going. I strongly suggest you check out our Bass brushes if you tend to have plaque along the gum line. While the brushes are pretty ‘plain’ looking, we have so many customers who swear that they have never felt their teeth cleaner than when using our ‘not so fancy’ Bass brushes. 🙂