by James Abbott

Created on: January 09, 2009

Some dental flosses can shred and small strands can become stuck between the teeth. It is quite a common problem. But, it's Saturday night, my dentist's surgery won't be open until eight on Monday morning how do I get it out? Well, firstly you shouldn't try to floss it out with another piece of floss. On some occasions it is possible for repeated breakages or 'shredding' of the floss to occur in areas where they may be a rough filling or other dental restoration or some area of decay. The rough surfaces of a filling or decay can be enough to shred the floss and cause it to break. Once you start using the shred prone floss to retrieve the initial piece you may well enter the nightmarish scenario of multiple piece of floss breaking at the same point, wedging more of the floss in the small space between the teeth, making it harder to remove the floss and putting pressure on the soft gum tissue.

To remove the floss I would recommend using a 'waxed' or 'non-shredding' floss (most flosses take this form nowadays) some of the best selling 'non-shredding' flosses on the market are actually made of Teflon. Tie a small not into one end of the 'non-shredding' floss. Try to pass the floss between the trapped pieces and the gum tissue above (in the csse of one of your upper teeth or the gum tissue below in the case of your lower teeth) - this isn't anywhere near as painful as it sounds. This is actually the sort of thing that your dentist would first resort to as using the scrapers and other tools of dread would cause more trauma to your gum line. Those of you who suffer from milder forms of gum disease may experience some bleeding. Don't panic, just take a break for a few minutes and try again later. If this method doesn't seem to be working then resorting to a tooth pick may be the next option. If the floss remains then a trip to your dentist is looking more likely

You should remember, of course, that once you have removed the floss that there was a reason for its breaking in the first place. You should get your dentist to check the area for any irregularities in some dental work that you may have had done such as a crown, a veneer, a bridge or even just a filling. The problem area could just be due to the presence of some tartar or decay and again your dentist should be able to help.

The experience of the shredding floss may put you off flossing but you should remember that if the cause of your breakage was indeed due to a dental restoration or a decay site between the teeth, then you are exactly the sort of person who should be flossing regularly, the same goes for any bleeding form the gums - don't let any bleeding discourage you from flossing. The bleeding is a sign that there is something wrong with the gum tissue nearest the teeth and that you should persevere with regular tooth brushing in conjunction with effective flossing to help alleviate the problem.

In future, ditch the floss and use flossing 'tape'. The increased width will prevent the risk of breakage and it will still effectively get into those tough to reach places.

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