Make Flossing Easier With The Right Tools

Most people think of a pain in their gums when they think of flossing, but that pain goes away after you start flossing regularly.  On the other hand, there is another pain that never goes away:  the pain of wrapping the floss around your finger.  Between that and the way floss gets slippery with saliva, it can be inconvenient to use.  But that’s not an excuse any more thanks to all the flossing tools you can find at any drug store.

Floss Picks

Floss picks are plastic toothpicks at one end and about an inch of floss held between two prongs at the other.  They’re just the right size and shape to reach all your teeth without trouble, they don’t use nearly as much floss each time you clean your teeth, and your finger will feel fine after you’re done.  Each pick is made for one use only, but you can get a giant bag full of floss picks for just a few dollars.

Soft Picks

These are like plastic toothpicks, but while normal wooden picks are too big to fit between your teeth, soft picks are small enough to go all the way through.  They also have soft brushes to help scrape away food particles, although they can’t get as close to the roots as floss.  On the other hand, soft picks are great for cleaning teeth with braces.

Interdental Brushes

Interdental brushes look like pipe cleaners and work essentially like soft picks you can reuse.  They come in different sizes to fit in the different sized gaps between your teeth, and the stiff brushes are great for cleaning all the plaque out from between your teeth.

Oral Irrigators

The oral irrigator uses a water stream instead of floss or brushes to reach the crevices of your teeth.  They look a lot like electric toothbrushes and the water is a lot more comfortable than a brush or waxed string, but in exchange, they aren’t quite as good at cleaning out all the plaque between your teeth.

If flossing the old-fashioned way seems like too much of a hassle, there are plenty of other ways to clean between your teeth.  Just make sure you don’t skip the step completely because flossing is just as important as brushing when it comes to oral hygiene.