With the improvement of people's oral health awareness, parents are paying more and more attention to their children's oral hygiene. From finger toothbrushes in infancy to electric toothbrushes and various toothpastes in childhood, everything is carefully selected. But this product, known as the best cleaning tool for the oral cavity, is rarely used by parents, and that is dental floss.
In most people’s perception, brushing is the best way to clean the oral cavity. In fact, it is not the case. Daily brushing can only remove about 70% of the plaque on the tooth surface, while the remaining 30% must be cleaned by other aids. Tools come to help, dental floss is the most convenient and practical one.
dental floss is not only to remove the impaction
people have a misunderstanding of dental floss, they think it is an improved version of toothpicks, only used when stuffing teeth. However, dental floss is actually the best tool for removing food impaction. It is also the healthiest and most effective tool for cleaning between the teeth and the adjacent surfaces of the teeth, because in addition to the excessive impaction that makes us feel stuffy, the teeth between the teeth after eating There will be fine food residues in the crevices, and no foreign body impact will be felt. But it is precisely these tiny residues, if not removed in time, it is easy to breed dental plaque bacteria and cause tooth decay. If it is not cleaned for a long time, it is easy to form dental calculus, causing swelling, atrophy of the gums and even the absorption of alveolar bone. Loose teeth may occur. The thickness of
standard dental floss is less than 0.15mm, which is much smaller than the thickness of the narrowest interdental gap. The gap between normal teeth is enough to allow flat dental floss to pass through. Use it to remove the impact, and there will be no gaps caused by toothpicks Enlarged and bleeding gums. In addition, studies have found that dental floss can massage the gums around the teeth and increase the blood circulation of the gums [4]. Therefore, the correct use of dental floss will neither harm the gums nor enlarge the gap between the teeth.
Children also need dental floss to clean.
Many parents feel that their children are still young and can’t use dental floss. In fact, the American Dental Association (ADA) recommends that you can use dental floss when your child’s two teeth can slowly touch each other. Assisted cleaning [1]. Dr. Indru Puenwani, a professor of pediatric dentistry at the University of Illinois in the United States, gave more clear guidance: when the last two molars of the baby grow out (2 and a half to 3 years old), you should help the child floss [ 2]. You should know that the arrangement of children's teeth is the same as that of adults, and dental floss is also needed to clean the food residue and dental plaque between the teeth to prevent caries on the adjacent surfaces of the teeth [3].
dental floss as a daily care tool, it is recommended that children use it 1 to 2 times a day, usually after lunch and before bedtime brushing. However, parents need to pay attention to the fact that the child's fine motor development is not perfect before the age of 6 to 8, and the fine movements such as brushing and flossing cannot meet the correct requirements, so parents must assist in completing [3 ].
Although there are many types of dental floss, you must choose according to your needs.
currently has a wide range of dental floss products on the market, but the principle of use is similar, but each has its own advantages in details, so the choice should be based on your own situation. Dental floss can be divided into floss stick and ordinary floss. Adults recommend that ordinary dental floss is the first choice. It is easier to wrap around the tooth surface for cleaning, and the front and back teeth can be cleaned. However, it is relatively difficult for the dental floss stick to enter the gap between the teeth behind. The biggest advantage of
dental floss stick is that it is suitable for beginners and children. It is divided into two types for adults and children. The two have certain differences in use and cannot be replaced with each other. For example, the arch design of the children's dental floss stick is more suitable for the child's mouth; the dental floss is thinner than the adult's, and the gap between the teeth It can also be easily slid in, and it can be cleaned by pulling it gently; the design of the handle is more convenient for children to grasp, and the tail end has no sharp corners, so there is no need to worry about hurting children. In addition, most of the children's dental floss sticks are cute, which can eliminate children's resistance to using dental floss.
As children accept dental floss, they need to slowly transition to ordinary dental floss. Because ordinary dental floss has different thicknesses, children's deciduous teeth are smaller than permanent teeth, so you can't choose too thick dental floss. In addition, dental floss can be divided into waxed dental floss, micro-wax dental floss and non-wax dental floss in terms of material. It is generally recommended that children choose wax dental floss and micro-wax dental floss.
The correct posture for flossing
Although flossing is good, how to use it correctly is the key. For novice parents and young children, dental floss sticks are a good entry-level choice. Its basic cleaning principle is the same as that of ordinary dental floss, but it eliminates the need to pull the floss on its own and let the floss stick directlyThe dental floss is aligned with the gap between the teeth, so that it slowly "slides" into the gap between the teeth, and you can start cleaning. However, when the child develops the habit of using dental floss, parents need to help them transition to ordinary dental floss, because although the dental floss stick is easy to use, the C-shaped floss is not as strong as ordinary dental floss.
For older children, parents can use ordinary dental floss to help their children clean their teeth. Take a 15-20 cm long dental floss, tie it on your fingers and fix it with a distance of about 1 to 1.5 cm between the two fingers; put the dental floss close to one side of the tooth surface, in a C shape around the tooth surface, up, down, left and right Scrape gently; after scraping one side, scrape the other side of the same tooth gap at least 3 to 4 times on each side until all the food residue is taken out [2]. Parents should not use too much force, otherwise the dental floss will squeeze into the teeth, and the gum will be "suddenly braked", which will damage the child's gums. Don’t forget to clean the last big tooth, which is the side of the tooth furthest away from us.
Finally, I would like to remind everyone that if you want to clean your teeth thoroughly, brushing and flossing are indispensable, only the combination of the two can keep your teeth healthy!
References
[1] Yang Fan. Can children use dental floss[J].Chinese Family Doctor,2017(7):29-29.
[2]文Ping.Baby Tooth Care Mom's Move[J]. For children: 3-7 years old (below) (5): 36-36.
[3] Zhai Xiaoyuan. Use dental floss to make children's teeth healthier[J]. China Family Education (first half of the month),2017,000(009) :40-41.
[4]Li Xiufang. Oral care, dental floss is left out[J].Oral Care Products Industry,2007(2):54-54.
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