DR Chidiebere Ibe, a Dentist with the 82 Division Medical Hospital, Enugu, on Wednesday recommended dental floss in lieu of wooden toothpick to prevent tooth disease.
Ibe made the recommendation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Enugu.
He said that the use of the floss was more hygienic than the wooden pick, noting that using the floss one could hardly risk injuring his or her gum.
“The use of dental floss is more hygienic than wooden toothpick because the floss is made of plastic, which can easily remove particles from one’s teeth without injury or hole-creation for food residues to settle, which often causes bacteria to the tooth,” the expert said.
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Ibe said that 80 per cent of plaque which were food residues that built up on the surface of the teeth, which could also cause gum disease, could be eliminated with the use of the dental floss made up of plastic.
“It has been widely accepted that the use of floss has a favourable effect on plaque removal and disease prevention, and about 80 per cent of it can be eliminated with this method,” he said.
The dentist urged everyone to always brush his or her teeth twice daily (morning and night) with fluoride toothpaste, to clean food and bacteria from the mouth.
According to him, such exercise will keep the teeth healthier.
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