"People who smoke cigarettes, they say:

“You don’t know how hard it is to quit smoking.”

Yes, I do. It’s as hard as it is to start flossing." - Mitch Hedberg

  • Phil_in_here@lemmy.ca
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    23 hours ago

    It looks years before my dental hygienist finally explained it properly for me.

    Your gums are inflamed from fighting all the bacteria etc from not flossing. When your gums are inflamed, they’re extra full of blood, so when you do floss, you bleed a whole bunch. It has nothing to do with “toughening up your gums”.

    I’ve flossed every day since and haven’t had a problem.

    Bonus tips: Tie a loop of floss so you can pull tension between two fingers without garroting/strangling your digits by wrapping a wire around them 8 times. Use proper Butlerweave floss instead of the plastic strip junk. The plastic slides over everything super easily, like the plaque and stuff you’re meant to be removing. If you’re having trouble getting in the habit, floss before you brush. It’s easier to skip if it’s added on after your normal routine. Also, if your life is so fast that you just don’t have the time, you’re probably not brushing your teeth long enough either. Dedicate 5 minutes a day to take care of the only (free) set of teeth you’re going to get!