You're enjoying a perfect dinner with your friends or family: the food is great and so is the atmosphere. But looks like this new recipe of the crunchy, sticky toffee tart has left some ‘souvenirs’ in between your teeth. Or maybe it was the popcorn you had while enjoying a beer and watching your favorite movie?
Meat, popcorn, toffee, bread and many other foods we love tend to get stuck in our teeth. Our parents and grandparents used to have a cup of toothpicks on the table, ready to save the moment.
But the toothpicks era is almost over. Why? And what other options do we have now?
TOOTHPICKS
While very handy in dislodging the leftover food from your teeth, toothpicks are not that recommended for cleaning between the teeth. The main reason being the fact that they are made of hard materials (wood or plastic) that can damage or traumatize your gums. Among the long-term effects of their use, we can mention:
- retraction of the gums;
- widening of the spaces between your teeth;
- can affect the enamel of the tooth
- or cause infections (if splinters break and get stuck in your gums).
What other options do we have?
If the normal teeth brushing is not enough for removing the particles of food, you can enhance your cleaning with either the dental floss, floss holders or Water flosser.
Dental Floss
Flossing is very useful in solving the issue with possible food leftovers. This is a highly recommended method for cleaning between the teeth, but also along the gum line. And should complement your daily routine of brushing teeth, not use it only for removing food leftovers. And if there are people who are not that handy or they have large fingers, which can make it difficult for them to use, the alternative would be to use the dental Floss Holders.
FLOSS HOLDERS
The results are the same as for flossing, they just come handier due to their holders. They are also much easier to be used by children too.
WATER FLOSSER
With its high-pressure pulsating water jets, the Water Flosser helps removing food residue from the interdental spaces. The only possible drawback of this highly effective method is that it is not so convenient to use for a dinner out. But while using your Water Flosser at home, you can always carry some dental Floss Holders with you. This will save you from having to smile with parsley between your teeth for the group dinner photo.
And try to remember that for good oral hygiene, flossing (in all its forms) should be part of your daily routine, not a one-time use.
So: EAT - BRUSH - FLOSS - SMILE 
