When Did Flossing Come Into Practice?

When it comes to your oral health, flossing is one of the best things you can do. Flossing is an easy activity, and it can help prevent a lot of problems with your oral health. How exactly did flossing come about?

Flossing History

Anthropologists have found a number of ancient cultures that flossed. While they didn’t have the same easy floss that is available now, they did use pointed sticks to remove food that was trapped between their teeth. As dental history progressed, some cultures used horse hair to remove food particles from their teeth. In 1815, Dr. Levi Spear Parmly was the dentist given credit for creating dental floss. He created floss using waxed silken thread.

How Dental Floss Progressed

After people realized how important Dr. Parmly’s wax floss was, other companies started to create their own brands of floss. The Codman and Shurleft Company originally started manufacturing floss until Johnson & Johnson created their version of dental floss in 1898 when they obtained a patent for it. By the 1940s, nylon was used instead of silk material for dental floss. When the 1950s came along, dental tape was created. In the 1990s, the interdental brush was created to assist people with flossing. Modern floss now consists of different materials like Gore-Tex. There are a variety of dental floss options on the market, including those for people with sensitive gums. And there are floss options for people with braces, dental bridges, and other special situations.

The Importance of Flossing

Several studies have shown the importance of flossing. If you do not floss daily, it can lead to an increase in gum disease and other oral health concerns. If you have flossed and noticed that your gums end up bleeding after, you are probably dealing with the early stages of gingivitis. The best thing you can do is floss daily and brush with toothpaste that contains fluoride. This will help reverse gum disease, and it can reduce the problems you may have with plaque. Flossing can help reduce inflammation of the gums, and it can help reduce redness of the gums. If you do not end up flossing daily, you may notice there are issues with an increase of cavities between the teeth. When cavities form between the teeth, it usually means you are not flossing daily. Failure to remove plaque can lead to issues with gum disease, and it can also lead to problems with your teeth falling out. Not only will you notice a decrease in oral disease, daily flossing will help reduce the risk of heart disease.

Daily Flossing

It is best to focus on flossing your teeth daily. Gently insert the floss between each of your teeth and just below the gums. This will help to break up the bacteria and plaque between the teeth. Do not push the floss between the teeth too hard, as it can rupture the gums, causing them to bleed. Daily flossing is the easiest way to reduce serious oral health problems and prevent additional health problems that can arise from too much plaque in the mouth.

Randy Collins is a freelance writer based in New Orleans, LA. For further information on dental health and oral hygiene Randy encourages readers to visit the experienced dentists in College Station TX.

Image credit goes to rust.bucket.