1. How to use dental floss: An animated guide
to dental flossing technique.
Dental flossing technique.
The information found on this page provides instructions for what we would consider a good
tooth flossing technique. It's one that is thorough and one that should be able to keep you in good
dental health, if practiced daily.
We'd suggest that you study our description of this technique and then demonstrate your
interpretation of our instructions to your dentist or dental hygienist. This way they can refine
your flossing technique as needed, and also give you tips and pointers that may help you use
dental floss more effectively in specific locations in your mouth.
Instructions for flossing your teeth.
The way you hold the dental floss is important.
When flossing your teeth, start off by breaking about 18 inches of dental floss from your floss
dispenser. Take each end of the floss and begin to wrap it around the middle two fingers of each
of your hands. Wrap most of the floss on the fingers of one hand while wrapping just enough on
the other hand that the dental floss is easily held. Continue to wrap the floss until just a small
length (3 to 4 inches) is left stretching between your hands.
The idea is that the floss will be held by these middle fingers
while some combination of each hand's index finger and
thumb will be used to manipulate the dental floss between
your teeth. Using this method to hold the floss is fairly
important. It is much more difficult to clean those areas

2. where access is limited if you are trying to manipulate the dental floss with the same fingers you
are holding it with.
So, go ahead and pinch the dental floss with the thumb and index finger of each hand. There
should be about 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches of dental floss stretched between your pinch hold on the
floss. This is the section of the dental floss that will be worked between your teeth and used to
clean away the accumulated food debris and dental plaque.
Gently work the dental floss between your teeth.
To floss a particular location you will need to work the dental floss past the contact point where
the two teeth touch. If the contact between the teeth is very tight you may need to use a slight
back and forth sawing motion to get the floss to go. You might also need to use a small amount
of pressure to help to guide the floss through the contact point. But don't use so much force that
the dental floss snaps past the contact and traumatizes your gums.
Work the dental floss
up and down the side of
each tooth.
At this point the floss will occupy a
position that is beyond the point of
contact between the two teeth but still
above the level of the gums. In order to
continue the flossing process you will
need to pull the dental floss snugly up
against the side of one of the two teeth.
This will force the floss to conform to
the shape of the tooth, thus positioning
it so it can scrub a maximum amount
of the tooth's surface.

3. While still keeping the pressure of the floss up against the tooth's surface (not on the gum tissue)
slide the dental floss up and down the side of the tooth both above and especially below the gum
line. Continue to manipulate the floss in this manner a few times so you know that you have
scrubbed this tooth surface thoroughly. Once you have finished cleaning the side of this first
tooth you will need to bring the floss back above the gum line, pull it up against the side of the
other tooth, and then clean this second tooth just like you did the first one.
Once you have scrubbed the sides of both teeth, both above and below the gum line, you have
finished cleaning this one location. Now all you need to do is bring the dental floss back out
through the contact point and move on to the area between the next two teeth.
Don't forget to floss the back side of the last teeth in your mouth and the sides of any teeth that
face spaces where teeth have been removed. Even though your toothbrush may be able to reach
these tooth surfaces there will be dental plaque that occupies that position below the gum line
where a toothbrush has difficulty cleaning.

4. Always keep the pressure of the dental floss against the
tooth's surface.
It's important that you always keep the pressure of the dental floss up against the tooth's side and
not directed onto your gum tissue. The whole goal of flossing is to scrub dental plaque off each
tooth's surface. Directing the force of the dental floss onto your gums serves no purpose and
doing so will only traumatize them. One sign of this type of inappropriate flossing is that a cleft
will form in the gum tissue that lies between your teeth.
Change the portion of dental floss you are flossing with from
time to time.
As the dental floss becomes soiled or frayed let go of one loop of the floss from the fingers of
one hand and wrap the slack up on the other so to bring a clean section of floss forward to be
used. In reality, the idea of using a "clean" section of dental floss is somewhat of a myth.
Bacteria are microscopic in size you could never know where on your hands or on the floss they
do exist or in what numbers.
However, there is no reason to give bacteria any help at all in recolonizing the areas you are
cleaning. Especially in the case where you see a glob of dental plaque on your working section of
floss, go ahead and unwrap one loop of dental floss from one hand and wrap this same amount
up on the other so that the portion of floss that stretches between your pinch hold is a fresh
section.
You should rinse your mouth out after you floss.

5. You should be sure to rinse your mouth out after you have flossed. Even though the floss will
have dislodged dental plaque and bits of food, many times these particles still lie somewhat
protected in between teeth. Rinsing vigorously can help to complete the job of expelling these
items out of your mouth.
You may find that your gums are tender or bleed when you
floss your teeth.
When you floss your teeth you may find that your gums are tender or bleed. Tenderness and
bleeding are typically signs of gum inflammation. In most cases this inflammation exists because
a person either doesn't floss, doesn't floss on a daily basis, or else doesn't use an effective
flossing technique.
Inflammation is a protective response our tissues mount in response to a threat. In the case of
gum inflammation the trigger is typically bacteria (and the chemical byproducts they produce)
that are harbored in the dental plaque that has accumulated at and below a person's gum line. The
signs of inflammation can include gum redness, swelling, tenderness, and bleeding.
You should initially assume that the bleeding and tenderness you notice when flossing are signs
that you have not been cleaning that particular area effectively and therefore inflammation is
present. We'd suggest that you adhere to the instructions we describe here for flossing, both in
terms of technique and flossing frequency (once a day). Doing so should allow your gums to
begin to heal.
As the healing process takes place and the inflammation in your gums subsides you should
notice less and less bleeding and tenderness, to the point where you no longer notice these
symptoms at all. However, if after a week or two of practicing a very diligent flossing regimen

6. you still do notice gum tenderness and bleeding you should schedule an appointment with your
dentist so they can evaluate your situation.