Daily Flossing Helps Prevent Gum Disease: Here's How — and How to Do It Properly
Aug 01, 2025
Keeping your teeth healthy requires a combination of attending teeth cleanings every 6 months and taking care of your teeth every day at home. Alongside brushing twice a day, flossing every day is an important part of your at-home oral care routine.
Board-certified dentist Bella Pinkatz, DDS, from Kew Gardens Dental P.C., in Queens, New York City, encourages you to get the most out of your daily flossing by learning the best technique. Understand why the whole family needs to floss and how to do it properly.
Dental floss is a thin, strong material that removes plaque between your teeth. You can’t reach all of the plaque that builds up on teeth by brushing your teeth alone.
Certain areas in your teeth and gums are difficult for your toothbrush to reach, but you can get rid of those trouble spots with dental floss. Brushing and flossing together reduce your risk of cavities and gum disease more effectively than brushing alone.
Flossing daily is an essential part of your oral health routine at any age. Children need to floss as soon as they have two baby teeth growing next to each other.
Just committing to flossing every day is an important first step. Once you get started, perfecting your technique ensures you get the most benefits.
To floss correctly, take the following steps:
You need about 18 inches of floss for a full set of teeth. Wrap the majority of the floss around the middle finger of each hand, leaving about 3 inches between your fingers.
Make sure to hold the line of floss taut between your fingers.
Once you’ve prepared the dental floss, you can move it into the space between your two chosen teeth. Make sure you use floss that comfortably fits all the way down the space between your teeth.
After the floss is between your teeth, move it up and down between them. Think of curving the floss in a C shape.
You also want to move the floss between the left and right sides of your teeth several times. Floss gently to avoid irritating or injuring your gums.
You can carefully remove the floss once you’ve thoroughly flossed the area.
You need to floss the same area between every two teeth that touch. You can expect it to take 2-3 minutes to floss.
There are a few situations where you might need to slightly change your flossing routine. If you have braces or a permanent retainer, our team shows you a special way to floss to keep plaque from collecting around the wires.
Young children need assistance flossing correctly. Floss your child’s teeth for them using the same technique as for adults, having your child help more over time until they can floss alone.
If you have dental implants or veneers, floss them the same way you floss your other teeth.
Our team is here to help your family master flossing during your dental cleaning or pediatric dentistry appointments. Contact us to schedule your next visit.