Just 1 in 14 Kids Floss Daily

While the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends daily flossing, results of the 2009 Delta Dental Children’s Oral Health Survey find that only 7% of children floss daily.

While a toothbrush is effective in cleaning the biting, front, and back surfaces of a tooth, the bristles cannot adequately clean between the teeth. Dental floss is the best means to remove plaque from these difficult areas.

Dental floss should be used at least once a day for two to three minutes. Here’s how to floss:

1. Begin with about 18 inches of floss and wind most of it around one of your middle fingers.
2. Wrap the short end of the floss around the middle finger of your other hand. That finger will collect the floss as you use it. You’ll guide the floss with your thumbs and index fingers.
3. Ease the floss between your teeth with a gentle rubbing motion. Avoid snapping it onto your gums.
4. At the gum line, curve the floss around one tooth. Now gently rub the floss up and down the side of that tooth.
5. Repeat with each tooth, including the back sides of your end teeth.

For more about how to floss and why it’s so important to your child’s oral health (as well as yours), see:

Flossing

To Floss or Not to Floss...That is the Question!

Which Type of Floss Is Best?

Two Steps to Clean Teeth