Flossing… Does it drive you nuts?

[Ivriniel]

Really even I was wondering where do people split while flossing in car? It doesn’t feel good…..

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[Ivriniel]

This is going to sound weird, but I’ve never been able to stand flossing. Taking that little tiny piece of string and forcing it between my teeth…Every single one of them… It makes my brain sad. It’s the very definition of tediousness.

It probably doesn’t help that I have poor fine motor skills, and tightly packed teeth, but having to do it actually makes me feel slightly nauseous. It’s not because I think it’s gross or something, it just feels like I’m expending way too much focus on getting it done.

I don’t know if this makes any sense or not. Just curious if anyone else feels the same way.

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[Patte Rosebank]

Try using Glide floss. It’s a plastic tape, so it slides through a lot easier, especially if you have tightly packed teeth, and it doesn’t shred or make a scratchy noise. It’s also much gentler on the gums.

I find that, with my tightly packed teeth, if I don’t floss after every meal, I have stuff caught between my teeth that I can’t remove (even with brushing), and which is far more distracting and annoying to me than flossing.

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[Ivriniel]

I’ve tried the tape stuff. It wasn’t any better. There’s something about having focus on making such small movements with my fingers that makes me want to scream. It feels like it takes an enternity.

What I’ve ended up doing is usng an electric flosser. All I have to shove the tip between my teeth and press a button. It’s a lot faster.

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[Anonymous]

My teeth are so tightly packed that things don’t usually get stuck there, unless I’ve been eating something really fibrous like oranges or popcorn.

And no, I dn’t like flossing either, though I haven’t figured out why yet :-p

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[Anonymous]

Put on music while you do it!

Works every time!

: ))

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[Patte Rosebank]

Or get a Waterpik. They’re more fun than flossing!

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[Anonymous]

So that’s why I have to be watching TV while I floss!

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[Anonymous]

This is my first time on this site, and this post made me laugh out loud. I have always had a hard time forcing myself to floss! I recently found the BEST solution. I use those little plastic flossers, and I floss while driving. It seems pretty safe (better than filing my nails, which I used to do, and certainly safer than talking on the phone) and I actually floss a couple of times a day now. One thing I’ve learned…some brands work better than others. I also have very crowded teeth, and I need really durable and glossy floss. I don’t remember the brand name, but the first kind I tried worked brilliantly; I could floss completely with only 1-2 flossers. I bought a different brand at a different store last time, and go through 3-4 every time. So, splurge a little and buy the better quality brand. Anyway, try it! I’m enjoying my newly improved dental hygeine.

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[Anonymous]

@ sarge – brilliant! thanks for the idea!

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[billd]

I”M with sarge – those work great, and it can be done with just one hand while you drive, flip channels on the TV, whatever.

I need to floss, and should do it much more. It never really bothers me, but it’s difficult. Some teeth are spaced apart, some really close, and to get my hands into my mouth, well, won’t go there.

I’ve got really good teeth and want to keep ’em that way……… honestly, it’s one of my fears, besides suffocation is losing my teeth. Weird. It’s like since they are a part of my skull, they have something to do with life itself, connected to the human brain, so I don’t want to become toothless.

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[nanaimo]

This is a year old but yeah, I hate it too.

I found what made it worse was how sensitive your gums get if you don’t do it regularly. That actually was enough to motivate me to change. If I at least floss before bed every night, I never get sore gums.

For those still trying to motivate themselves, it may interest you to know that gum disease can cause serious health problems as the bacteria in your mouth travels in your bloodstream to other areas of your body.

One last thing: I have a tendency to brush too hard and not long enough. Brushing is boring! My dentist said it would start damaging my teeth if I kept doing it, and brushing for a very short time barely does anything. Be gentle and try to reach 2 full minutes.

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[ashockley55]

For those of you flossing in the car: Oh my goodness, where do you spit????

Agghhh!! Don’t you spit when you floss??? Agghhh! I have to spit while I’m flossing to spit out all the nasty bits of stuff I have gotten out from trapped between my teeth!!! Agggghhhh!

My flesh is crawling with the grossness of the idea of not being able to spit out of mouth what I have got out from between my teeth!!!

Lord have mercy!!!!!

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[Scattybird]

Hello MiguelDominic – you don’t happen to know a chap called John Harrison do you?hahah.

Larynxa is the waterpik a jet washer for the mouth? I’m guessing it is. I’d never come across one until last week when I saw one for sale at a reduced clearance price. So, being a sucker for gismos I bought it.

After having soaked myself, my bathroom and gone through 3 refills to just do my top teeth I decided I knew why it was on sale to clear! It even says you can fill it with your favourite mouthwash – not at the price of my favourite mouthwash I won’t.

Despite soaking myself and making my gums bleed with its intensity (might have been a bad idea to use it just after a wisdom tooth extraction) I stuck with it.

Now I can use it properly – no soakings and multiple refills. I love it! It’s so much nicer than floss and works better too.

For those who floss in the car though – not a good gismo for you! That is unless you drive wearing a wet suit.

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[Geoduck]

I use the plastic flossers for my kids. Well, until they got braces. Oh, now I get to pick up the little packets all over the floor. My children seem incapable of putting anything in the trash, except large amounts of tissue. UGH!

I hate flossing, but learned to make a habit of it. I hate the scraping sound the hygienist makes with her little tool, more. I also have extremely sensitive gums and teeth, and combined with a bit of PTSD from a horrid dental experience, the less time in the chair, the better. So I floss with Glide. Better than regular floss, and much better than the stupid hookie stabby scrapy thingie.

Still, this electric flosser thing you all are talking about, is it the sonic thing? I’ll have to check that out. Is it the one that’s super expensive?

Don’t floss in the car. Seriously, I doubt anyone is good enough a driver for that. LOL!

Short flossing story: There was this old gal once, who decided to floss in front of me while I ate breakfast. I was overly polite and didn’t say anything. However, I couldn’t help but imagine little bits of plaque flying at me and my food. It was pretty gross.

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