What’s the deal with flossing? Published Oct. 12, 2009 By Capt. (Dr.) Matthew Avrit 42nd Aeromedical-Dentral Operations Squadron MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- Every time I go to the dentist, I hear the same old speech - I need to floss more. I always listen to my dentist, because I'd like to keep my teeth for as long as possible, so every time that I walk out of the cleaning appointment, I find new resolve to floss my teeth every day. That lasts for a few days, or maybe even a week, until something comes up. A late night at work, a hectic evening or anything that can make me convince myself that "I just don't have time to floss tonight." From that point until my next cleaning, the only times that I'll pick up the floss again is if I have something stuck in my teeth. I guess the main reason why I give up so easily is that I never really understood why flossing was important. I mean, I can understand tooth brushing, since it is scrubbing my teeth with a cleaning solution. I just didn't understand what flossing accomplished that brushing didn't, so I asked my dentist at my next appointment. "Each tooth has five surfaces," explained my dentist. "You have the biting surface, the side towards your cheek, towards your tongue, and each side toward the tooth. When you brush your teeth, you clean the top and the sides, but you don't clean the two sides toward the other teeth. You are only cleaning 60 percent when you don't floss." He also told me that the reason why it hurts and bleeds when I floss is because the areas between my teeth still have residue there, even after I've brushed. "The food attracts bacteria, and together they irritate the tissues," he said. "It's like having a splinter in your gums that you never take the time to remove." He also told me that I don't have to floss the same time that I brush, I can do it any time during the day. Well, the visual of a splinter in my gums did it for me. I won't lie, I still miss a day every now and then, but it's not often, and I've found that it works well for my schedule if I floss during my lunch hour. After a couple of weeks the discomfort and bleeding went away, I feel better knowing that I'm keeping myself healthier, and most importantly ... I don't have to hear the speech any more.