Flossing is just as important as brushing your teeth since it is cleaning the parts of your teeth that you cannot get with a brush. In addition, flossing freshens your breath, prevents cavities, and prevents gum disease from forming. However, flossing alone is not enough, since you need to do it properly. Here are some tips to do it the right way.

Use An Up And Down Motion

The first mistake that people make when flossing their teen is to use a back and forth see-saw motion. This motion is okay to get the floss between teeth that are really close together, but it shouldn't be used to do the cleaning. Instead, you want to use an up and down motion with the floss.

Hug The Tooth

Avoid moving the floss up and down between your teeth to try to clean both teeth at once, since you are likely not scraping the surface of each tooth with your floss. You'll want to wrap the floss around the side of each tooth so that it hugs the entire surface. Use the up and down motion several times, not just once, to get rid of the soft plaque on this surface. 

Gently Rub The Gums

You'll want to stimulate your gums when flossing by gently rubbing the floss into them. Use that up and down motion a couple of times so that it goes deep into your gum line. Don't just do one pass and call it a day, because you are likely not getting rid of as much plaque as you can. You also want to avoid jabbing the gums with your dental floss. Be gentle so that you do not cause bleeding. That said, bleeding may occur if your gums are inflamed due to a lack of proper oral hygiene over the years. 

Do Not Forget Your Rear Molars

While your focus may be getting between your teeth, you'll want to remember about those rear molars at the back of your mouth. The surface area on the far backside of those molars is susceptible to plaque buildup just as much as the other surfaces, so make sure that you are wrapping the floss around that hard to reach the surface. 

Want to know if you're flossing correctly? Ask your dentist to watch you floss during your next appointment. They can give you some pointers about what you could be doing better. For more information, speak with a dentist.