It's normal, that during the day, something you eat gets stuck in between your teeth. While the immediate thought is to remove the particle, the tool best suited for the job becomes quite tricky to choose. In such cases, it's often up to the toothpick or dental floss to get rid of the particles. However, the big question remains, which one is a better fit and which one is more recommended by oral health experts.
Toothpicks
Toothpicks are generally a choice for most people because of their availability, especially in eateries. Most diners will have toothpicks at the ready for a customer who has some lodged pieces of food in between their teeth. However, their design and thickness only allow them to get so far in between the teeth. They can only be used to remove the more sizable chunks of food debris that is caught.
What's more, toothpicks require a gentle hand when using because using they can aggressively cause you to scratch the gums and even damage the papilla or the gums themselves! The habitual injuries caused by toothpicks can cause the space between adjacent teeth to increase, leaving you with a black hole that wasn't there before.
Flossing
When it comes to removing foreign objects stuck in between teeth, dental floss takes the hat. Not only is it thin enough to slide in and out of teeth safely, but it is also medicated! Dental floss allows us to reach those far corners of the teeth where tooth bristles cannot reach. It is also quite gentle on the gums and does not cause extended damage. One thing people should know about flossing is that sometimes it can bet a bit bloody. This is a normal reaction to the floss coming into contact with the gums aggressive, but shouldn't deter you from flossing.
People must know how essential removing food debris is to our oral health. The pieces of food that are left become food for bacteria, which then causes a whole host of complications we don't need. Take care of your teeth by regularly brushing and flossing your teeth!