Cleaning Between Teeth: What’s Best?

Since dental floss was invented in New Orleans in 1815 by Dr. Levi Spear Parmly, people have been trying different ways to clean between their teeth. There is very good reason to do so; the most common location for dental cavities is in between teeth (interproximal), followed by the chewing surface, then either the front or back of the tooth. But floss has been followed by the development of interproximal brushes (plastic brushes that look like toothpicks with teeth) and water irrigators (Waterpik). Which method is best? Well many studies show that interproximal brushes are better at cleaning between teeth than floss, by measuring things like plaque level decrease, gum bleeding, and pocket depth. Also, several studies show that irrigating with water (Waterpik) does a better job at reducing gum disease and bleeding than dental floss. Best wishes - ProDentalFx, LLC (Source: Science Direct, and Dent J (Basel). 2019 Jun; 7(2): 56.)