The New Year’s Resolution Dentists Want From Patients - Floss, Floss, Floss

Have you heard about SMART goals, yet? It’s a simple concept that can help steer your oral health in the right direction. I’ll help you out.

SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results focused, and Time-bound. It’s a great mechanism to follow when creating goals – which is what New Year’s is all about, right?

Floss, Floss, Floss

As a dentist in Beverly Hills, here’s my new year’s resolution to you: flossing more. I know, I know – you’ve heard it a thousand times and possibly even more. But it’s crucial. It’s also specific. It’s measurable. It’s achievable. It’s results focused (not as many cavities for me to fill). And it’s time bound.

Your next dental appointment can be the date where you are evaluated (by me!). This is when you’ll be able to see if your work has paid off – and assuming you were flossing properly, you’ll definitely notice a difference when you are complimented for having excellent teeth.

Flossing properly means that the floss is actually reaching below the gum line on both sides of each individual tooth. Your floss string should be curving around the base of each tooth. It may hurt. It may bleed. But the pain you feel is certainly much better than some of the procedures you may have to undergo because of a failure to floss correctly or even floss at all. Trust me!

Can you live up to the challenge? Once it becomes part of your routine, then it’ll become clockwork. You should floss after every meal, but if you are unable to make this happen, then be absolutely sure to floss every night. By nighttime, you have accumulated a lot of food particles, sugar, and other harmful substances throughout the day.

But Flossing is Boring?

While I agree with you, New Year’s resolutions and excuses are a no-no. Here’s the thing… you can make it fun! Music makes everything more enjoyable – pop some earphones in, play a vibrant song and start flossing. Before you know it, you’ll have finished and moved on to the mouth rinse just because you want to make sure the song is completed before you leave. Try it out.

As always, have fun, keep smiling, and have a wonderful holiday season. Happy Holidays from the team at Dr. Hadaegh’s dental office!