Water Flossing is the New Black

A few Family Dental blogs back we talked about the importance of flossing and the proper way to do it. We hope that some of you took that one to heart. Flossing is so important to your oral health—regardless of whether you have cheap dental insurance or not—we just wanted to touch on the subject again. So ya know, maybe traditional dental floss isn’t your thing. We get it. So what are your other options? Well, there are floss picks that hold the floss for you. This extremely convenient alternative to traditional floss makes one-handed flossing a snap; however, it is not as effective as traditional floss. But if it’s between not flossing at all and using a floss pick, we’d say the floss pick is an acceptable alternative. Trying to avoid the floss string altogether? Maybe the Waterpik is the right flossing tool for you.

There has been a lot of conflicting reports surrounding the Waterpik, but science seems to be landing on the pro-Waterpik side. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, the Waterpik Water Flosser does exactly what the name suggests; it basically flosses your teeth with water. Although it was initially believed that Waterpiks did not remove plaque from your teeth, scientific studies are now revealing that they do. Waterpiks are easier to use and reduce inflammation of the gums. They are also better for people with dental bridges or braces. The bottom line is this: the Waterpik has definitely proven itself to be an acceptable alternative to traditional floss for those of you not keen on running a string between your teeth every day.

At the end of the day, whatever method you choose is fine as long as you are practicing some sort of flossing/brushing combination daily. Ameriplan dental providers can only do so much. Family Dental Health Plans can provide you with the affordable dental plans, but it’s up to you to look out for your oral health on a daily basis.