Tips For Cleaning Underneath Your Dental Bridge

Will you soon be getting a dental bridge to fill the gap left behind by a missing tooth? If so, know that your dental care routine is going to change a bit. That's because you cannot floss normally with the bridge having all interconnected teeth. So how do you clean underneath it? You'll need to learn how to use new tools to get the job done. Here are some tips for getting the space underneath your dental bridge clean. 

Purchase A Floss Threader

You'll want to make sure that you have the right dental tools that will fit underneath your dental bridge. Thankfully, floss threaders are very inexpensive and they are sold at your local pharmacy. While they are reusable, you'll want to have a few on hand in case they break unexpectedly. 

Thread The Floss Correctly

The main difference between dental floss and a floss threader that you'll immediately notice is that a floss threader is a bit stiffer to help thread it underneath your dental bridge. It's designed to be stiff enough for you to fit it underneath the bridge, but still be gentle on your gums. 

Your floss threader forms a big loop that looks very much like the end of a needle where you thread a piece of string into. The same logic applies to using dental floss. You'll want to place the floss into the loop so that it is hooked onto it.

Insert The Floss Threader

Gently insert the floss threader into your gums, with the loop of floss being the last part to go underneath the gums. You want to pull the floss threader completely through the underside of the bridge. You should have a double strand of floss underneath the bridge, which is completely okay. 

Scrub The Bottom Of The Bridge

You'll want to use a side to side motion to scrub the underside of the dental bridge, rather than an in and out motion. This area is incredibly hard to reach with a toothbrush, and it is very easy for plaque to collect in this part of the bridge. You'll then want to floss the sides of the bridge with an up and down motion to clean that part as well. Wrap the floss in a c-shape around the tooth so that you are scrubbing as much of the surface as possible. 

When finished, continue pulling the floss out from underneath the bridge. Rinse off the floss threader, and toss out the dental floss that you just used. Check in with you local dentist for more information.