You Can Never Floss Enough

If you’ve ever been to the dentist, there’s a good chance that the hygienist encouraged you to floss more regularly. That’s not abnormal. Hygienists do this for good reason. Flossing helps secure tooth and gum health by cleaning the areas between the teeth that your toothbrush just can’t reach.

By dislodging residual food and surface plaque, floss works to keep those hard-to-access places free of foreign bacteria. So, flossing is important. But flossing alone is seldom enough.

First of all, not many Americans floss regularly. And most dentists will tell you that even the ones who say they do, probably don’t often enough.

Secondly, floss cannot reach all the microscopic bacteria that can settle in deep below the gum line. Furthermore, while floss has the power to dislodge, it can’t necessarily kill bacterial colonies known as biofilms.

Biofilms are clusters of bacteria that start on the teeth. Eventually, they can slide down into the periodontal pockets below your gums. Then, they grow into larger colonies and the pockets get deeper. And when your hygienist measures your periodontal pockets, they usually recommend you floss more often in order to keep the pockets clear.

But if those pockets measure more than 3mm, it may be too late. And you can floss all you want and not make a difference in your gum health.

That’s because floss doesn’t reach deep enough and is a temporary intervention, whereas bacteria are constantly breeding.

In addition to tooth brushing and floss, we recommend homecare that creates a hyperbaric environment around the gums and locks in treatment to kill harmful bacteria while promoting the health of good bacteria.

The Perio Protect Method® offers just such a treatment. For only fifteen minutes a day, patients can self-administer anti-microbial medicine to their gums and reach deep into areas that no floss, mouthwash or toothbrush can address.

Patented Perio Trays®, customized to each patient’s mouth, create the hyperbaric conditions. They are also the first multi-patented, FDA-cleared medical device that can deliver aggressive treatment of gum disease (periodontitis) non-invasively and deep below your gums. And while the technology behind them is sophisticated, they’re easier to use than a string of floss.

A woman using a Perio Tray® by Perio Protect

The Perio Trays® by Perio Protect are non-invasive and can be used at home.

And when patients see the results within weeks, they tend to stick to their treatment. And hygienists certainly appreciate that.


For more information about how Perio Protect promotes oral hygiene and stronger overall health—all while whitening teeth and freshening breath—visit PerioProtect.com.

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