One thing that your dentist likely to tell you to work on at home between appointments is flossing. While you may be given some tips on different flossing techniques that can help you get the tartar out much easier, you may want to take a step back and look at the type of dental floss that you are using. Here is the difference between tape and braided styles of dental floss.

Tape-Style Dental Floss

When you are done effectively flossing your teeth, you'll notice that there are visible spaces between all your teeth. It's normal to have these gaps since teeth do not always rest completely flush against each other. It should be a concern when tartar fills up the spaces between the teeth, which then solidifies and becomes difficult to remove. You can use the tape-style of dental floss to help get rid of the tartar.

If you use a dental floss that's the thinner monofilament variety, it won't do an effective job at removing plaque from between these gaps. If the gaps are very wide, monofilament floss won't cover the surface area as well and can leave plaque behind. Dental tape will be much thicker than the monofilament style of floss and can help remove plaque and food on your teeth. By using dental tape, the nylon strands covered in wax have a much wider surface area, and when moving them vertically across the side surface of a tooth, it will be more effective than other types of floss.

One thing to keep in mind is that with large gaps between your teeth, tape-style dental floss will need to be worked along each side of the tooth rather than being big enough to cover two surfaces at once.,

Braided-Style Dental Floss

The braided-style of dental floss is also called multifilament floss, and it's made with several strands of interwoven nylon. The floss resembles the look of yarn and might be coated with wax. Many people that have implants or fixed dentures use braided dental floss to better clean round these dental appliances.

The wider variety of braided-style dental floss means that it works better for people that have large gaps between their teeth since it will have an easier time reaching both surfaces of the teeth. Some people with sensitive gums find that braided-style dental floss is easier on their gums since the material is softer and will not cut into the gum tissue. For more information, contact your local dentistry office.