Alternative to flossing?


Question:
ok i cannot floss for the life of me! every time i try, i bleed a lot and i cant do it for all my teeth, it takes to much time!! any alternative??

Answers:
Rotodent--it is an electric toothbrush that removes a lot of the bacteria that flossing removes... however, you still need to floss.
i just brush really really hard
XD
having your teeth rot. Your teeth will collect tarter and plaque. Then, you will lose your teeth.

There is no alternative to flossing!
Try 'Glide' dental floss, it's the only one I can easily get in between my teeth.
You can gently use a toothpick (not one that will give you splinters!) to probe around the edges of each tooth and a little between. It sounds like you're someone who really NEEDS to floss or pick. If your gums are bleeding they're not healthy. Flossing and picking help to toughen them up.

Bad gums will lead to early tooth loss.
I get the little floss picks, it is way easier than plain floss. The reason why your are bleeding is because of the bacteria. Flossing is essential!
Mouthwash! Works for me.
As they say "only floss the ones you want to keep" You're gums are bleeding when you actually are flossing because you dont do it enough. Unfortunately it is a pain and it does take a couple of minutes but its what you gotta do. Flossing keeps your gums healthy which hold your teeth in place. Try Glide or a waxed type of floss and splurge on a water pik.
You may be rubbing against your gums too hard. Just be gentle when you're flossing against your gums. It is not normal to bleed when you floss, so if you don't think you may be flossing too hard you may want to see a dentist about your gums bleeding.

As far as it taking too much time, once you start flossing regularly you'll get used to it and you'll do it much quicker. Before I started flossing regularly I had the same complaint, but I can do it quite quickly now that I'm used to it.
There is no alternative to flossing. The fact that your gums bleed is not because of flossing, but rather that you have gingivitis. In order to get your gums healthy again you have to see your dentist and/or hygienist. Have a professional cleaning done and oral hygiene instruction shown to you. There are a lot of dental hygiene aids , e.g. water pick, proxabrush, Go-betweens and so on...but keep in mind they are adjuncts and never alternative to brushing and flossing. And please DO NOT brush hard. Doing so will cause trauma to your gums and abrasion of your teeth (AKA toothbrush abrasion).

Good luck!
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but #1 if you're bleeding every time you floss, your gums most likely aren't in great shape, (I know, I had that problem at one time) and #2 if they are you might just need to be shown exactly how hard to floss. What I use is those little white floss picks. I hate doing it too but that and rubber tipping once a week have kept me cavity free for about 8 years now and I'm ahem 52. Even when I do go to the Hygenist every 6 mos. as per insurance, she doesn't floss that hard and she said as long as you loosen the food that's what counts. then just rinse. good luck!
I have been using inter dental brushes and picks. They are little brushes that come in varying sizes. The spaces between teeth varies.

The ones I like have little covers, and can be rinsed after use. I like the G-U-M Tapered Proxabrush Traveler ones, and their antibacterial ones. I also use a very small one called Denta Picks These are plastic and are discarded after use. I like to use three items because I like the brushes for the large spaces and picks for the tiny spaces.

I stopped flossing, and use an electric toothbrush and the inter dental brushes and picks twice a day, and last time I went to the dentist I had much less tarter and no bleeding. I am convinced!

I buy from Drugstore.com for good prices for GUMS. Here are some other sites for disposable ones that are good to finish off with:

http://www.amerimark.com/cgi-bin/amerima...


http://www.dentist.net/flix-interdental-...

This is from my own experience!
Flossing is not causing your gums to bleed. Try this: gargle and rinse your mouth with warm salty water (don't swallow) a couple of times a day. This will help your gums and alleviate the bleeding. Brush your gum line gently when you brush your teeth. Try the floss picks instead of the string floss. If the bleeding still continues after about ten days of faithful gargle/rinse with the salt water, see a dentist. You can also gargle and rinse with hydrogen peroxide. You might try salt water in the morning; peroxide in the evening.
Maybe you aren't flossing correctly, or that you are brushing too hard before you floss. Try a soft tooth brush and don't floss so hard. Also, make sure you are flossing correctly. Your gums form a V shape around your teeth. Floss is supposed to clean the sides of your teeth. So, You should take the floss and dip down one side of the V and scrape the side of the tooth, up and down 3 times, then the other side of the V (scraping the side of the adjacent tooth) dipping up and down 3 times. Do this for all left and right sides of your teeth. It will take time! Flossing should not take a few seconds. I usually take 5 minutes to do a good job. Also, after flossing, use a mouthwash. There are also different kinds of flossing devices, like the reach access flosser. Or you can try an oral irrigator which uses water to clean below the gumlines. DO NOT SKIP FLOSSING or some kind of gum cleaning! I used to have bad periodontal disease and now have no problems because I floss!!
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