**SPONSORED CONTENT BY GRACE DENTAL**
Hi, I’m Dr. Grace Lee, and I’ve been serving the Clarksville community for 7 years…and loving it. But I don’t love the fact that most people I see brush regularly, then neglect flossing. I have patients who know this is important, but still they start flossing just three days or so before coming to see me. As a matter of fact, only 3% of my patients floss daily.
I really love my patients, so I’ll continually say to them, “Don’t worry. You only need to floss the teeth you want to keep.” This usually brings a grin from them (made by the healthy teeth they still have left) and then a flood of excuses. And I’ve heard them all as part of a seemingly endless string of reasons for not flossing. “I ran out of floss…my mom doesn’t buy floss for me…it hurts when I floss…I feel like I’m yanking…I’m the victim of a government conspiracy…etc.” But despite all the weak excuses, flossing is still extremely important.
Not flossing can lead to gum and associative bone diseases such as gingivitis and periodontitis. These can lead to bleeding gums and eventual tooth loss. And as if these ailments weren’t scary enough, include the possibility of death in extreme cases where bacteria has spread through the bloodstream to the heart.
But don’t panic just yet. We can help you reduce the bacteria by having you floss correctly while including a professional cleaning every 6 months as part of your dental health routine (while realizing that brushing alone only removes about 1/3 of all plaque). Further, I would recommend 15-18 inches of “Crest Glide” to use while stuck in traffic, watching television, listening to music, or generally “vegging-out.” If you’re lucky you might develop one of the healthiest habits ever.
**Dr. Grace Lee had been serving the Clarksville dental community for the past 7 years. Follow her at www.facebook.com/gracedentaltn **Grace Dental, www.gracedentaltn.com, 304 Providence Blvd, Clarksville, (931) 648-4100**