Flossing picks are such a handy tool for the noncommittal or squeamish flosser.
If you need a quick and easy way to clean the area between your teeth, they might work in a pinch. But unless you’re using several of them in one flossing and going below the gum line in a precise manner, one dental professional advises against using them.
In a video posted to TikTok that has drawn over 1.1 million views, dentist Lulu Tang (@dr.lulutang on TikTok) says she would not advise that people use flossing picks to clean between their teeth unless they are very thorough.
“Y’all are not supposed to be doing flosser picks, but if you do, like myself, I want to show you how I tell my patients how to use it,” she says in the video. “So in flossing, it’s something called a c-shape technique. Essentially, you have to wrap around your tooth to actually floss effectively. A lot of times when we’re flossing, we’re not really doing anything for our gums. So if you look at this, in between each teeth is basically these pink triangles, these are your interdental papillaes.”
How to use flosser picks properly
Getting underneath the gum line is essential to effectively cleaning teeth with dental flossers, she says. What she advises against is using the pick end of the flosser on gums, as they can become damaged.
She also advises that those using flosser picks to clean their teeth should probably be using more than one for their whole mouth.
“Now, a lot of y’all are married to one flosser pick,” she says. “Do you see how loose it gets and the gunk that you get out? You need to be using multiple flosser picks in one session. If you start to see it loose, or have too much gunk, don’t rinse it off, just toss it and get another flosser pick. I also use a water pick so really check in with your hygienist and dentist, and see if this technique is being effective for you.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to @dr.lulutang via TikTok direct message regarding the video.
Why are floss picks not a good choice?
As Tang notes, flossing picks are not the most effective method of cleaning teeth at the gum level. Its small, straight piece of floss cannot form to the curves of teeth to clean them thoroughly.
Experts agree that some floss is better than no floss—but for day-to-day flossing, floss picks might not be the best option for everyone.
Viewers weigh in
Some viewers agreed with the poster’s position on flossing picks pretty succinctly. It can’t replace good old-fashioned flossing.
“They aren’t as effective as string floss, string floss essentially allows a easier and more effective c shape and floss picks you reuse the same strand of floss which can potentially just move the bacteria around the mouth whereas floss string you can move to a clean area after each tooth,” one commenter wrote.
“That’s basically a bacteria pollinator,” another commenter wrote. “Rinse the floss after each area.”
“You shouldn’t use just one pic though because it transfers bacteria to the other teeth,” a commenter wrote.
Others defended their use of the picks for a range of reasons including the size of their mouth and pure convenience.
“I have trouble with the regular floss,” one commenter wrote. “The picks make it easy lol.”
“I use the picks because my hands physically can’t use regular floss plus my mouth is freakishly small, my dentist even struggles doing anything,” another commenter wrote.
“I almost exclusively use picks and my hygienist always says my teeth look great,” a commenter wrote.
@dr.lulutang Thank me later #Floss #DentalTok #Tutorial ♬ original sound – Dr. Lulu Tang | Vegas Dentist
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