Why does it hurt when i floss

We all know that flossing is an important part of oral hygiene. But if your gums hurt after flossing, then it can be easy to skip this part of your routine. While gum pain can be distressing, it’s actually a very common problem. However, it does need to be treated by a dentist. In this article, we’ll explain why your gums hurt after flossing- and how your dentist can help.

What Causes Gum Sensitivity?

Gum sensitivity is caused by a few different things. Simply put, gums are sensitive. Certain foods, drinks, and brushing techniques can cause gum pain. Your physical health can also affect the gums- for instance, acid reflux and even the hormones from pregnancy can cause mouth pain. Talk to your dentist to get to the bottom of your sensitivity.

Why Do Gums Hurt After Flossing?

If your gums hurt after flossing specifically, then there might be an issue with how you floss. Some people floss with too much pressure, which can cause pain and bleeding along the gum line. Pain after flossing is also a sign that you’re not flossing often enough. Be sure to floss every day in order to limit your pain. Of course, some people have great oral hygiene and still deal with pain after flossing. This might be a sign of a gum disease like gingivitis.

When to See Your Dentist

It’s important to see your dentist any time you have mouth pain. However, if you notice new or worsening gum pain, or changes in the look of your gums, then it’s especially important to visit the dentist. You might have gingivitis. While gingivitis sounds scary, it is easy for dentists to treat. However, it needs to be addressed as soon as possible.

You Don’t Have to Live With Gum Pain!

If your gums hurt after flossing, then it’s time to seek help. There are plenty of solutions that your dentist can use to reduce your pain. Noble Smile makes it easy to for patients to find relief. We offer a variety of treatments for tooth sensitivity, gum pain, and gingivitis. Give us a call to learn more.

It’s important to brush and floss your teeth every day to maintain good oral health. But what does it mean when your gums hurt afterward? Is it normal for gums to be sore or even bleed while flossing or shortly after flossing? Let’s check in with your dentist in Danville to see just what may be causing your gum pain.

Don’t Blame The Floss

While it’s true that flossing can cause gum pain, it’s usually not the action of flossing itself that results in soreness. The only reason why flossing alone will cause pain is if you’re flossing too hard or too often — once a day is the typical recommendation. If your gums bleed or become inflamed and sore while flossing gently, or you notice the pain shortly after flossing, it’s usually a sign that there’s something else going on in your mouth. Some of those possibilities aren’t very serious, while others are cause for concern.

Canker Sores

One of the not-so-serious causes of gum pain is a canker sore. These non-contagious sores can affect anywhere in your mouth, including your gums. They’re usually a small red bump but can also be covered by a white coating. Canker sores can be painful, but they’re usually short-lived. There’s typically no reason to worry about canker sores as they’ll go away on their own, however, if you have one that doesn’t disappear within two weeks, schedule a visit with your Danville dentist.

Minor Burns

Another potential reason behind gum pain that shouldn’t worry you is a minor burn. These painful and pesky burns can happen from eating hot food or drinking a hot beverage too quickly before it has a chance to cool. The result can be a minor, yet painful, burn that can affect your gums, roof of the mouth, or really any of the mouth’s soft tissues. There’s no treatment for these incredible common minor burns and the pain will resolve on its own. Just try to avoid biting into a hot slice of pizza too quickly.

Hormonal Changes

This cause of gum pain only applies to women, but it’s still worth talking about. Women’s hormone levels fluctuate often, especially prior to and during menstruation as well as with pregnancy. These changes in hormones can affect a lot of areas of the body, and surprisingly, the gums are one of those areas. Gum tissue can become swollen, red, and tender, but these symptoms are typically temporary and should resolve on their own.

Oral Cancer

One of the more serious potential causes of gum pain is oral cancer. Similarly to canker sores, oral cancer can first show signs as a sore, sometimes with pain and sometimes without. While the sore or the pain doesn’t need to occur on the gums, it certainly can. In fact, oral cancer can affect any area of the mouth including the gums, tongue, cheeks, and throat. Oral cancer can be treated successfully, but it’s important to catch it in the early stages. That’s why seeing your dentist in Danville every six months is so important. Any abnormalities or changes that have occurred can be thoroughly examined, and any problems can be caught and treated before they have a chance to develop into more serious, harder to treat problems.

Gum Disease

The other serious cause of gum pain that we’ll be discussing in this blog is gum disease. As we mentioned earlier, bleeding when flossing isn’t normal, and there’s usually another explanation. Oftentimes, gum disease is to blame. Gum disease usually shows the following signs and symptoms in addition to bleeding:

  • Tender, swollen gums
  • Bad breath that doesn’t go away
  • Receding gums
  • Loose teeth

If gum disease isn’t diagnosed and treated, it can lead to tooth loss as well as other problems related to overall health such as heart disease, kidney disease, certain cancers, and Alzheimer’s.

Any type of gum pain that doesn’t resolve itself or lasts a few weeks is usually a sign that you should schedule an appointment with your dentist in Danville sooner rather than later. Your dental team will help determine the root cause of your gum pain and talk with you about the best treatment for your specific situation.

If your teeth hurt after flossing, there’s nothing to worry about much, it is a common issue, and the prime victims are ones who are trying it for the first time. Toothache or discomfort after brushing or flossing might indicate that there’s something wrong with the way you clean your teeth. Talking to your dentist will help diagnose the issue early. On-time treatment is essential to keep your teeth and gums fit and healthy. Below are some reasons why you may experience tooth pain after flossing.

Why Do My Teeth Or Gums Hurt After Flossing

You recently added flossing to your cleaning habits.

If your teeth and gums are new to those flossing strikes, they may not like it and result in toothache or gum pain. Most of the time, the ache you feel is because your gums and teeth make themselves habitual of proper cleaning. You’ll have to wait for a few days before your gums get used to flossing, and things will get normal. Keep making those strikes, and your gums will become tolerant. The teeth and gums that once used to be sore will now resist any pressure from flossing, giving you a great start to good oral health.

Wrong Flossing techniques

When thinking,” why do my teeth hurt after flossing,” remember the way you floss. Sometimes your gums or teeth might hurt or become sore if you’re flossing too much or too hard, which is wrong. It’s never a good idea to force the floss between the gums or keep doing it for a long time. Floss carefully, so you don’t hurt your teeth and gums. Be calm and gentle, and don’t floss too hard. Exerting pressure or snapping the flossing thread between teeth and gums can cause throbbing pain and even result in bleeding. If your teeth or gums hurt after flossing and you’re thinking of quitting, it’s not a good idea at all. If you cannot handle a traditional floss, you can opt for the alternatives such as:

  • Water flossing: This technique uses a stream of water to eliminate the bacteria and plaque between the teeth and makes flossing super easy.
  • Interdental Brushes: These are tiny brushes that you can easily use to clean between the teeth and provide a great alternative to traditional flossing if you have braces.
  • Dental Pick: These dental sticks are usually made of wood or plastic, and you can use them to move plaque from your gums and teeth. As compared to floss, these picks aren’t beneficial, so it’s better to avoid them.

Gum Disease

Bleeding gums after flossing is the most prominent sign of gum disease, also known as periodontal disease. Another symptom is tooth pain after brushing or flossing. If periodontal disease is caught early, it can be treated using a proper oral hygiene routine and regular dental checkups.

Dental Filling

Sometimes after you have a filling, you experience pain in the affected tooth when brushing, flossing, or eating anything.

How Many Times Should You Floss A Day?

The way you floss is more critical than the number of times you do so. If you floss in a hurry several times a day, it’ll kill the whole purpose as much of the plaque and bacteria will be left behind. To achieve optimal results, slowly and thoroughly floss your teeth at least once a day.

Is Flossing Everyday Bad For You?

Flossing mildly once a day will prove beneficial for your oral and overall health. However, if you floss more than once or twice a day and do it vigorously, it can be harmful and lethal for your gums and teeth.

Should You Floss Before Or After Brushing?

A very common questions people ask us is if they should floss or brush first. To effectively remove food debris, plaque, and bacteria from the mouth, it’s best to floss before brushing your teeth.

The purpose of flossing is to remove the stuck food particles between the teeth and gums. Only brushing cannot remove these pieces because the bristles are very thick and cannot pass through the small teeth gaps. If you floss first and brush later, the particles remain there and don’t leave the gaps between the teeth. Therefore, when you begin your teeth cleaning routine, floss first and leave the rest on brushing.

Flossing First…

 After you are done with the flossing part, the next step is brushing your teeth with a soft-bristled brush and a toothpaste that contains fluoride. After you are done with brushing, you can rinse with mouthwash to maximize the benefits of cleaning habits.

Why Should You Floss Before You Brush? Are There Any Additional Benefits?

  • If you want to make your teeth stronger, flossing before brushing will do the trick. Use mouthwash and toothpaste that has fluoride as an active ingredient as it’s beneficial for tooth enamel. Fluoride helps rebuild the eroded and damaged tooth enamel and alleviates the chances of decay development.
  • Plaque is made up of bacteria, and swallowing it elevates the risks of high blood pressure, heart diseases, and other severe diseases. Brushing after flossing also reduces the chance of swallowing plaque and other harmful particles.
  • If you floss before brushing, you are minimizing the risks of gum disease development. When plaque accumulates around the teeth’ soft tissues, it stimulates infection growth, known as gum disease. If you brush your teeth before you floss, food debris and plaque are further pushed into the gums that result in infection.

What Happens When You Floss every day?

Flossing every day helps your teeth and gums eliminate plaques and harmful bacteria. Overtime flossing alleviates bleeding gums and helps fight gum disease. As recommended by dental professionals, you are supposed to floss between or teeth and gums at least once a day.

Can You Floss After Brushing Teeth?

Yes, you can, but as mentioned above, flossing after brushing doesn’t do much good. Brushing your teeth before you floss will only encourage the food particles and bacteria to stick harder. With time, the bacteria will grow and lead to infection. The initial stages of this infection are gingivitis, and it’s possible to treat it with dental cleanings. If left untreated, the infection takes a severe form (periodontal disease), and an extensive treatment such as flap surgery will be required.

How Long Should I Wait To Brush My Teeth After Eating?

Brushing your teeth after having a meal is a good idea. You should wait for some time before you pick up your brush. If the food you eat has nothing acidic in it, you can brush your teeth immediately. However, you cannot always be sure of the ingredients in your food. Therefore, the wait time to brush your teeth after eating should be at least 30 minutes. Waiting for this much time will promise better results. Also, remember that brushing only once a day isn’t enough, do it at least two times a day.

Should You Use Mouthwash Before Or After Brushing?

Just like people ask if they should floss first or after brushing, the same is the concern with mouthwash. It doesn’t matter much if you use mouthwash rinse before you brush or floss your teeth. You can still avail its benefits.

You can rinse your mouth daily with mouthwash, but one thing to note is that it isn’t a replacement for regular brushing and flossing. Mouthwash can add up to your oral hygiene habit, but the real cleaning providers are brushing your teeth twice a day for at least two minutes and flossing once a day.

Brush Floss Mouthwash Order

To get the best out of your oral hygiene routine, you should thoroughly clean your teeth before rinsing with mouth wash. The first step is to floss between your teeth and gums and then brush using fluoridated toothpaste, and the third step is using mouthwash to rinse your mouth. Mouthwash can also help you eliminate bad breath but won’t effectively fight gum disease or strengthen enamel if not done after brushing and flossing.

Can You Damage Your Teeth By Flossing?

Forcing the floss between your teeth, flossing too hard, or doing it hurriedly can damage your tooth enamel and the gum tissues. If you’re worried about if your dental floss will expire, relax! Just like a toothbrush, floss can last forever, so there’s no need to rush.

Following incorrect flossing techniques can adversely affect your oral health. Receding gums can expose the tooth roots leading to damage and sensitivity. This is one reason people complain that their teeth and gums hurt after flossing. Therefore, floss gently only one time a day.

Every person is unique, and so is their oral conditions. Your dentist can determine what is best for your teeth. If you wish to learn about the right way to brush or floss your teeth, if you should brush or floss first or use mouthwash and why you might have pain between your teeth or gums after flossing, contact Rodeo Dental & Orthodontics. To request an appointment, call our office at 888-453-4129.