Healthy gums don’t bleed, and are not painful to floss at all.
I’m in my 30s and only recently learned flossing technique and got my gums healthy. Flossing used to take so long and always involved a lot of bleeding no matter how delicate I was.
These days I’m absolute savage with floss and interdental brushes and never have any blood or pain.
Once you get your gums healthy you’ll be disgusted at yourself for ever not flossing. The amount of disgusting I can floss out on an almost daily basis is insane.
Plus you’re breath will not smell gross anymore.
It’s worth committing to the habit of flossing. Trust me.
Thanks for this reminder.
Waterpiks are a godsend
Can’t overstate how great they are if you hate flossing.
I try to avoid waterboarding myself when I can.
When you first start flossing again am I the only one that thinks… it hurts so good?
I know what you mean! There’s something about that tender gum feeling that is more appealing and less wholly negative than other pain. I haven’t had it in a while because I do floss daily now, but I definitely can relate.
Yes! I’m obsessed with how it feels. It’s pain but relieving at the same time.
“Take care of your teeth” is my go-to “old person’s advice to young people.” Once you realize that dentists can’t really “fix” (as in permanently fix) most problems with your teeth (that you get one set for your whole life), that 5-10 minutes a day to take care of them doesn’t seem like so much.
Seriously, once you have a cavity, there’s a pretty good chance that tooth will eventually become a crown or implant. Once a tooth cracks, it will eventually get worse and have to go. Dentistry is mostly preventative, and for the most part they can really only apply a band-aid to serious problems.
Oh dear. How do I make my 13yo understand that, who doesn’t seem to care?
Show them this video and tell them this is what happens when you neglect your teeths. https://libreddit.domain.glass/r/popping/comments/py6qlw/teeth_cleaning_i_feel_this_was_the_most/
Nearly nobody will get a mouth that bad if they at least care to look at their teeths from time to time and have a basic hygiene, both dietary and oral.
But to at least get them interested, this video does the work really well.
(The video shows removal of a massive plaque of tartar. So I don’t recommend anyone uncomfortable, with looking at the inside of mouths and with seeing some bleeding, to watch this video)
Show them pictures or videos of a root canal.
If you figure it out, tell the world!
Totally agreed. I got this advice to “Take care of your teeth” when I was 20. My professor just said “You’ll never regret it.” I took that to heart. Why wouldn’t I do something I’ll never regret!?
Pretty exciting though japanese researchers are doing human trials for medicine that blocks a protein that blocks a 3rd set of teeth from growing in, if that goes well we will probably have better teeth for longer time at least.
Seriously please go to the dentist and take care of your teeth. My parents stopped taking me to the dentist when I was 16 and I didn’t return till I was 30. I had developed a massive anxiety over it and couldn’t even look at myself in the mirror because I was terrified to look into my mouth. I got off relatively lucky but for the love of God go to the dentist
This comment hit hard, I know that feeling of looking in the mirror and being afraid to open my mouth. I went yesterday for the first time in over 10 years. I felt so much shame and anxiety, I didn’t sleep well for 2 nights leading up to the visit, but boy do I feel better now. Considering it had been so long the news wasn’t as bad as I was expecting, and it was not as painful as i thought it would be (my last visit was not pleasant) Now that i’m over that hump, i’ll be going back much more frequently and will be more diligent with my oral hygene. I wish I had done it sooner. Seriously, for those in a similar situation, just go to the dentist and set things right before it’s too late.
Awesome job mate. I went through a similar stage with my depression. It takes courage to pull yourself out of situations like that so make sure you appreciate yourself.
The best 3D printer we know of is biology. Until we can grow a new tooth from some science broth, prevention is imperative. Even once we do, it’ll take a while to catch up to nature.
That and for the price to come down to where mere mortals and/or folks with decent dental insurance can afford it!
You could also use one of those water pick things that use a pressurised water jet to clean between your teeth. After I started using one regularly my dentist even remarked on how much better my gums were looking.
Yes, my dentist thought I was flossing because I use an off brand water pick. No, Sir. I just use water jets to blast away invaders.
That is flossing though.
My girlfriend bought one of those. I thought she was fooled by some advertisement but that thing is the best. No bleeding, super clean feeling, no stuck floss between teeth and dentist thought things look great. The only thing they said was to try to switch sides with the water jet, meaning to put the jet from the inside towards out every once in a while. All in a great invention.
I’ve heard that they can push things under your gums, and should actually be avoided. Not sure how accurate that is, though.
My teeth were tight too. Broke even the thinnest floss but keep trying. Eventually it became easier - broke s lot too. We use those little Plackers flossers and floss while watching TV or watching birds.
I’m in my 40s and dealt with a lot of pain and gum recession because I didn’t develop good habits as a kid. Parents, teach your children to floss. Gentle, compassionate dentists are not as easy to find as you might think. Your kids will suffer later in life if you don’t emphasize good dental care.
running into a caring, kind hygenist was the best thing that ever happened to my dental health. convinced me to use a sonicare and floss daily and it changed my whole game. i used to think floss was to get stuck food out which it partially is, but it also busts up colonies of invaders
My dental hygienist told me that the best tools for cleaning your gums are wooden toothpicks.
the second best are the interdental cleaners.
The worst are the plastic toothpicks and the dental floss.
I’ve been using a combination of the wooden toothpicks and interdental cleaners for a few years and they are game changing.
Also use a good electric toothbrush and an tongue scraper.
An electric toothbrush gets into the places in between your teeth that a normal brush can’t get to and an tongue scraper is a game changer for the smell of your breathe overall.
Take good care of your teeth and gums. Brush 2 times a day, clean your gums at least 1 time a day and scrape your tongue.
Bad dental hygiene and no gum cleaning whatsoever will lead to receding gums and may lead in extreme cases to periodontitis .
Receding gums are a real thing and when they happen they DO NOT grow back. Your roots of your teeth will be exposed which are a pain in the ass itself.
Bad dental hygiene and no gum cleaning will also lead to deeper “gum pockets” which can lead to periodontitis. Look up what that means for your teeth and gums and you will start taking care of your mouth flora like a possessed being.
I am not a dentist of any kind, a few years ago I just really took an interest in dental health and tried to educate myself about the subject for a few weeks.
Correct me where I am wrong or if you want to elaborate on something, be my guest ;)!
I dont understand how interdental cleaners and wooden toothpicks are better than floss. Floss can easly warp arround the theeth. A toothpick can’t really reach small spaces or the back part of the teeth.
I can understand what you mean. I started with floss but for some reason I got more food/buildup out from in between my teeth with wooden toothpicks and interdental cleaners.
I have a new dentist, so for fun I am gonna ask at my next appointment what she would recommend.
If I remember, then i’ll come back to give the answer from my new dentist.
My next appointment is in November though ;).
I had a waterpik but it broke, so it’s repurposed as a milk dispenser for the cat when we’re away.
You only need to floss the teeth you want to keep.
Unless your German apparently? Aldi doesn’t sell floss.
Aldi is a discount grocery store. You’d need to go to DM/Rossman for that stuff. Alternatively, the large grocery stores probably carry some stuff as well, but they’re still a different category of store.
ok fine i have unhealthy gums. who gives a shit. trillions have lived and died with unhealthy gums. men rose to great power, built empires, changed the world with unhealthy gums
There’s direct links between heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and gum health.
And died from unhealthy gums.
All of your examples are from before sugar was in everything edible
You should give a shit if you want to keep your teeth. You know your jaw itself can erode from gum disease? Been there, done that, and now my dentist has been nagging me for years to let them yank out 4 teeth and put in a bridge because they’re so unstable - and I routinely have dreams about all of my teeth falling out.
When I was a teenager, well, there’s a whole lot involved, but I basically didn’t have any dental hygiene to speak of.
Who cared?
Well, I had more than one root canal by the time I was 20.
I’m a bit obsessive about it these days, but I have not needed any more root canals.
Take care of the teeth that you want to keep. Don’t worry, if you don’t, they’ll go away.
Okay but you’re not gonna do those things things so maybe you should floss
When my gums don’t bleed i turn the water pick up a notch
Indeed. I started regularly flossing a few months ago, and it didn’t take long before it stopped hurting.
I’m in my 30’s and have just started flossing regularly (thank God for no dental issues), and I’ve noticed so much junk that builds up in a day. I’m obsessed with it now and look forward to seeing all the junk removed from my teeth.
Man I used to waterpik every single night, but they stopped manufacturing the tip that I liked and I can’t find it anywhere (even on eBay).
It’s a weak excuse I know, but I really think I’d get back into it if I could find the tips I liked.
From many dental visits, pared down:
Brush light, floss hard. Some minor bleeding from flossing, weirdly, is actually ok. Just go easy on that spot until it’s not sore anymore, then ease into going hard again. These two things are mostly what will make getting poked with all that metal shit not bother you so much.
You only need to floss at night. You aren’t putting food in your mouth while you sleep.
Electric toothbrushes are legit improvements, not gimmicks. Get one if you can.
100xThis
Yeah, I have noticed this too. I try to keep my teeth in good health and when I started flossing more regularly, I’d noticed I barely have any breeding. I’d bought an water flossing to try it so it become more of daily rather than twice a week type of affair.
