Dental floss may be used for cleaning the furniture and other things. If you are wondering how then you should know that dental floss can easily enter smaller gaps which may be present in tables and other furniture. Your finger or any other cloth cannot enter such smaller gaps. However, dental floss will be able to penetrate easily in such gaps. This way, you would be able to clean your furniture perfectly. Apart from this, one may use dental floss to separate cookies from the pan while baking them. Many people lose a relevant part of their cookies while trying to separate them from the pan. Cookies generally get stuck over the pan. You can use dental floss to gently separate cookies from the pan.

If you wish to floss your teeth then you should also know the proper technique of flossing the teeth. Always use 18 inches of floss. Most of the floss should be tied around middle fingers of both hands. Leave around 1 or 2 inches of floss to work with. Always use a gentle hand to floss the teeth because if you do it with force then your gum tissue may get hurt. In some cases the gum tissue may be bruised so badly that it starts bleeding. For cleaning different gaps, different parts of dental floss should be used. One should remember to floss below the gum line. However, do not forget to do it gently.

Here is a technique of how to floss your teeth:
> To have a good grasp on the floss thread, use about 12-18 inches, i.e. a minimum of 1 feet of floss. And to use it conveniently, wrap a couple times around the middle fingers of both the hands.

> Stretch the thread between the forefingers or both the thumbs, and the hold should be tight. Then pass the thread between two teeth gently, so that it doesn’t hurt the gingiva. Pass the thread in back-and-forth motion from the lower to upper area and vice-versa.

> Passing horizontally doesn’t clean the teeth properly. Take care while passing the floss, as the most sensitive interdental gingiva can easily get damaged and bleeds if excess pressure is put.

> One of the most famous techniques of moving the floss thread around the tooth is C-shaped flossing where the proximal surfaces of teeth are involved, and below will be the video to explain how to floss using the C-shaped technique. Place the floss near the contact area and slowly move downwards in the sulcus area, and again come up with the same force and pace.

> Repeat the same procedure for all the teeth in all the quadrants, and also do the same for distal surface of the last tooth in every quadrant.
You should repeatedly shift the area of thread used around the tooth, as it can get loaded with the food debris, or plaque and that area of thread becomes ineffective to clean more surfaces.

Here is the video tutorial of tooth flossing technique using C-shaped procedure:

The dental floss can be waxed or unwaxed, and flavored or non-flavored.

Contents -
How was dental floss introduced?
What to take care about dental floss?
Does floss clean all the tooth surfaces?
How is dental floss available?
How to use a dental floss?
How is a dental floss useful?

How was Dental floss introduced to the world?

A dentist from New Orleans, named Levi Spear Parmly is the person who for the first time use a traditional form of thread as a dental floss. It was a thread of silk which was used first as a floss. This was late back in 1815. Then there were a few companies after decades which came with some floss materials into the market, some of the companies include Codman and Shurtleft, Johnson & Johnson Corporation, Red Cross, Salter Sill Co. and Brunswick.
The usage of floss is still seen more in the western countries, and in America, 50% of people have the habit of flossing taking it as a measure of maintaining oral hygiene.

What to take care about dental floss?

It is advised that the dental floss should be used in a gentle manner as it can hurt the external of the tooth, and sometimes the gums. Generally you can floss once a day after brushing. The American Dental Association suggests that flossing should be done by curving the floss against the surface of side of the tooth, moving along the shape of “C”, then do the same vertically from the tip of gums to the tip of the tooth but this has to be done very gently as the gum can be damaged if done vigorously. Flossing should be done for a very less time.

Does floss clean all the tooth surfaces?

Dental floss cleans all the tooth parts except the areas below the contact point in the proximal surfaces as it can not reach there if the contact points are tight and do not allow the floss to go further down.

How is dental floss available?

It depends on the manufacturer, but generally a floss is available in the form of long threads of 10 to 50 meters length, and are rolled and placed in plastic containers and transported. The pack also has an attached blade to cut the floss whenever the needed and required amount of floss is pulled out. There are several manufacturers like one of those well noted ones is the toothpaste manufacturer Colgate.

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How to use a dental floss?

Required amount of floss is cut from the box and then it is wrapped around the middle fingers of both the hands so that a good hold can be put on it, and directly pressing with the fingers can reduce the friction and the floss can slip from between the fingers. The fingers can be rested over the other teeth when working on a particular tooth and its surfaces. And the thumb should be used as a press for the floss on the middle finger.

Alternatively, you can just tie the two ends by knots and make a round loop of the thread which can be used in wet conditions, and does not apply much pressure too. Then as given above, the floss should be run against the surface and along the proximal margins of the teeth to clean off the bacteria and the food particles.

There are materials which can hold the dental floss to use it in a proper way, they are -
Floss Wands
Floss Picks

These wands and picks are materials which have 2 prongs in an end from the handle which are in the shape of F and Y, and between the prongs, there is a floss attached. They help in holding the floss easily but are not efficient as the manual hand flossing is. Sometimes, the part underneath the gums where the plaque forms frequently, is not cleaned well when these wands and picks are used.

Watch this video as a tutorial for flossing your tooth in c-shaped manner -

How is a dental floss useful?

Dental floss is helpful in removal of food particles and the bacteria and oral flora which are responsible for some common oral conditions like Gum disease, dental caries from dental plaque, and halitosis or bad breath due to food accumulation. And it also helps in prevention from Gingivitis and Periodontal disease.