All the bacteria in your mouth are anaerobic meaning they thrive in areas without oxygen.  Around each of your teeth is a cuff that should be approximately one to three millimeters in depth.  In a healthy mouth with healthy gums by brushing and flossing you’re able to keep these areas clean.

Your toothbrush can clean the top, back and fronts of your teeth.   However, the brush cannot get in between your teeth.  This is where dental floss comes in.  The dental floss can get in between your teeth to clean these areas.

When you brush your teeth you bring air into your mouth and the air has twenty percent oxygen.  The oxygen helps to kill the anaerobic bacteria which cause gum disease and tooth decay.  If you do not floss over time the pocket around your tooth becomes deeper.  Once the pocket is more than 4 millimeters deep even if you floss you are unable to reach the base of the pocket.

Food which can remain in the pocket after eating breaks down and releases acids.  Bacteria like dark, warm areas without oxygen and a source of food exactly the environment in your mouth.  The acids irritate your gums and make them more porous or fragile.  The net result is once touched by your tooth brush or floss your gums can begin to bleed. 

In the first phase of gum disease called gingivitis your gums become swollen and bleed upon flossing.  If this is not remedied in the next phase called periodontitis in addition to gum inflammation you begin to lose the bone holding your teeth in your jaws.  Left untreated the final outcome is tooth loss.

So what to do?  If you have not been to the dentist, come on in.  We’ll take a look and see what’s going on.  Next you need to clean your teeth daily once in the morning and then again in the evening.  Think about it.  When you go to sleep if you have not cleaned your teeth and gums it is a bacterial paradise.  So, before you go to sleep brush and floss and this will decrease the levels of bacteria present.  Also, nobody wants morning mouth.

Then upon waking brush and floss again to remove the bacteria that has built up during the night.  Your mouth will feel better and so will you.  So there it is.  Brush and floss in the morning and again at night and come twice per year to see your dentist and you’re on your way to dental health.

At the dental practice of Dr Glenn Reit located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan we like teeth and the people attached to them.  If you need a dental exam and cleaning you’ve come to the right place.  Conveniently located at 1498 Third Avenue between 84th and 85th streets we know teeth and have been treating them for decades.

Times change but teeth don’t.  If you take care of them they will take care of you.                                       

So call today at 212 517 9000.  You’ll be glad you did.

Looking for a Dentist in the Upper East Side?

At the practice of Glenn Reit DDS; we provide quality care in a relaxed, comfortable, clean and safe environment. Please contact us today at 212 517 9000 for this or any other of your dental needs. We look forward to seeing and taking care of you