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Home » Blog » Keep Your Gums Healthy: How Flossing Can help Prevent Gingivitis

Keep Your Gums Healthy: How Flossing Can help Prevent Gingivitis

One of the first things that you learn as a child regarding your oral hygiene is how to floss. Dr. Justin and Dr. M. Emami can tell you:

  • How properly flossing your teeth removes unwanted food and other material from between your teeth
  • How flossing helps keep your gums healthy by removing plaque, tartar, and the bacteria they help create from between your teeth and near the gumline
  • And how your breath becomes fresher with regular flossing.

You can find out all about flossing and more by calling one of our two Tulsa area locations to schedule your dental appointment today. Reach our Tulsa office at 918-302-2401 or our Sand Springs location at 918-245-5976.

The Galleria of Smiles dental team of Drs. Justin and Mehrdad Emami have studied at some of the most prestigious universities and have pursued hundreds of hours of continuing education. All of that has lead us to conclude that flossing is still an effective way to maintain a high level of oral health. Take a minute or two to find out more about the benefits of flossing properly and regularly.

 

What is Gingivitis and Why You Should Care

Gingivitis is a dental condition that affects far more people than you would think. Current data shows that about 50% of all adults have some form of gum disease, and over 70% of adults over the age of 65 suffer from gum disease at one stage or another.

The first stage that everyone will go through is gingivitis. There are some recognizable symptoms associated with gingivitis:

 

  • Bleeding Gums
  • Inflamed Gum Tissue
  • Sore Gums
  • Receding Gum Tissue

 

All gum disease starts out as gingivitis, but gingivitis is very treatable. This means that just because you have gingivitis, you don’t have to get gum disease. Galleria of Smiles and Drs. Justin and Mehrdad Emami can help you.

Galleria of Smiles is amply equipped to help you with your gingivitis. Our years of dental experience, advanced education, and dedication to continued education have given us everything we need to help you beat back the beginning stage of this devastating oral infection. Trust the dental professionals at Galleria of Smiles with your oral health problems today.

 

What Does Flossing Do?

Well, every tooth in your mouth has five surfaces. Brushing with a toothbrush only covers three of the surfaces. If you don’t floss you are leaving 40% of the surface of your teeth uncleaned and teaming with plaque, tartar, and bacteria. By flossing your teeth you are getting all of the dangerous material from inside your mouth and saving your gums from the potential disaster that is gum disease.

Galleria of Smile can do a lot to keep your teeth and gums healthy, but we need you to do your part. Call either our Tulsa or Sand Springs location to find out more about why flossing should become a staple of your home dental hygiene routine.

 

What is the Right Way to Floss?

Here are some tips on how to floss your teeth effectively to keep your teeth clean and your gums safe from your friends at Galleria of Smiles.

  • The Right Floss Makes All of the Difference – Depending on your dental condition you may need some special floss. Most people will simply need to choose between wide and flat dental floss that is good for covering the full surface area of their tooth. If your teeth are very close together, you should look for dental floss that is shred resistant. This way you won’t have to deal with the irritation of floss that breaks down as you are using it.

For those Galleria of Smiles patients who have braces or a bridge restoration, you will need a dental needle to get the floss underneath the wire to clean your teeth. Galleria of Smiles can help you find the kind of floss that you need to make sure that you are getting the most benefit from your flossing routine. Call your local Galleria of Smiles office today to find out how we can help you.

  • Be Sure to Use Enough – It may be tempting to only use five or six inches, but you should make sure you have an ample amount. We suggest 14 to 16 inches of dental floss per use. That gives you plenty of dental floss to comfortably work it in between your teeth for a thorough cleaning.
  • Polish Both Teeth in the Space – Thoroughly clean the sides of your teeth in the opening. Going up and down on each tooth, you are going to undoubtedly go too far down once or twice. The little bit of blood that follows is normal. The more you floss, the better you will get at it.

 

Call Your Galleria of Smiles Dentist Today for Flossing Tips

You can reach our Tulsa location at (918) 496-8010, while our Sand Springs office can be reached at (918) 245-5976.

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This privacy notice discloses our privacy practices and the use of Google Analytics 4(GA4), an analytic advertising feature. This privacy notice applies solely to information collected by this website and the GA4 platform. It will notify you of the following:

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We only have access to/collect information that you voluntarily give us via email or other direct contact from you. We will not sell or rent this information to anyone.

We will use your information to respond to you, regarding the reason you contacted us. Unless you ask us not to, we may contact you via email in the future to tell you about specials, new products or services, or changes to this privacy policy.

While Galleria of Smiles is the primary data controller, Google, in the context of providing Google Analytics service, acts as a data processor. We use Google Analytics 4, a widely recognized web analytics service provided by Google, Inc., to track user interactions and gather data for advertising purposes. As a third-party vendor, Google Analytics operates independently and maintains its own privacy policy, which can be found at https://policies.google.com/privacy. We carefully select our third-party vendors for their commitment to user privacy and adherence to data protection standards. As part of our ongoing commitment to your privacy, we implement measures to ensure that services like GA4 comply with our high standards of data protection.

GA4 collects certain personally identifiable information from you as you interact with our website. This information includes but is not limited to your device ID, IP address, and geographic location. The information collected through GA4 is used to analyze user behavior, optimize our website’s performance, and tailor our content to better serve your needs. This data is compiled and anonymized, ensuring that it cannot be linked back to individual users.

Please note that GA4 may share the information collected with Google and other third-party service providers to enable data processing and reporting on website usage. However, we will not sell, rent, or share your information, especially your personally identifiable information, with any third party outside of our organization.

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You have certain rights regarding the data collected by GA4. You have the right to do the following at any time by contacting us via the email address or phone number given on our website:

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In addition to opting out of any future communications from us at any time, you may also opt out of the GA4 feature if you so choose. You can opt out of the GA4 Advertising Features we use through Ads Settings, Ad Settings for mobile apps, or through the NAI’s. This link points to Google Analytics’ currently available opt-outs for the web https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout/

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Wherever we collect sensitive information (such as credit card data), that information is encrypted and transmitted to us in a secure way. You can verify this by looking for a lock icon in the address bar and looking for “https” at the beginning of the address of the Web page.

While we use encryption to protect sensitive information transmitted online, we also protect your information offline. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job (for example, billing or customer service) are granted access to personally identifiable information. The computers/servers in which we store personally identifiable information are kept in a secure environment.

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When Personal Health Information (PHI) is requested, we abide by all Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) rules and regulations to protect your information and privacy. We are required by applicable federal and state law to maintain the privacy of your health information. We are also required to give you this Notice about our privacy practices, our legal duties, and our rights concerning your health information. We must follow the privacy practices that are described in this Notice while it is in effect. This notice takes effect January 1, 2019, and will remain in effect until we replace it. We reserve the right to change our privacy practices and the terms of this Notice at any time, provided such changes are permitted by applicable law. We reserve the right to make the changes in our privacy practices and the new terms of our Notice effective for all health information that we maintain, including health information we created or received before we made the changes. Before we make a significant change in our privacy practices, we will change this Notice and make the new Notice available upon request. You may request a copy of our Notice at any time. For more information about our privacy practices, or for additional copies of this Notice, please contact us using the information listed at the end of this Notice.

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We are the sole owners of the information collected on this site. We only have access to/collect information that you voluntarily give us via email or other direct contact from you. We will not sell or rent this information to anyone.

We will use your information to respond to you, regarding the reason you contacted us. We will not share your information with any third party outside of our organization, other than to perform quality of service analysis and as necessary to fulfill your request, e.g. to respond to your queries. We may use your information to review our interactions with you and to help us improve and provide you with the best experience possible.

Unless you ask us not to, we may contact you via email in the future to tell you about specials, new products or services, or changes to this privacy policy.

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We take precautions to protect your information. When you submit sensitive information via the website, your information is protected both online and offline.

Wherever we collect sensitive information (such as personal health information or credit card data), that information is encrypted and transmitted to us in a secure way. You can verify this by looking for a lock icon in the address bar and looking for “https” at the beginning of the address of the Web page.

While we use encryption to protect sensitive information transmitted online, we also protect your information offline. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job (for example: billing or customer service) are granted access to personally identifiable information. The computers/servers in which we store personally identifiable information are kept in a secure environment.

If you feel that we are not complying with your rights, you should contact us immediately via telephone or email. You also have the right to contact Health and Human Services (HHS) (https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint/). We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

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All rights reserved, Galleria of Smiles makes this website available to all users for the sole purpose of providing educational information on health-related issues.

The accuracy of website, information, and resources identified are not warranted or guaranteed, or intended to be a substitute for professional health advice, to contradict health advice given, or for health care of any kind.

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All materials on this website, including the site’s design, layout, and organization, are owned and copyrighted by Galleria of Smiles, or its suppliers or vendors, and are protected by U.S. and international copyrights.

Material on this site may be used for personal use only. Commercial use of any sort is strictly prohibited.

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This site may not be used as a supplement or alternative for health care, and is not intended and does not warrant or guarantee the quality or quantity of any services of any of the advertisers identified; further, the information provided is merely for educational purposes, and its accuracy is not guaranteed. Do not use this site as a substitute for health care. Please consult with your doctor or other health care provider regarding any health questions you may have. This site may not be used for health diagnosis or treatment. Do not use this site to disregard any health advice, nor to delay seeking health advice, because of something you read or see in this site.

You understand and agree that neither Galleria of Smiles nor its suppliers or vendors or linked domain names are responsible or liable for any claim, loss, or damage of any kind, directly or indirectly resulting from your use of this site or the information or the resources contained on or accessible through it.

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This site also includes links to other internet sites created and maintained by Galleria of Smiles’s suppliers, vendors, affiliates, or subscribers. Be aware that Galleria of Smiles does not control, makes no guarantees about, and disclaims any express or implied representations or warranties about the accuracy, relevance, completeness, timeliness or appropriateness for a particular purpose of the information or the resources contained on these or any other internet sites.

Further, the inclusion of these links is merely for your convenience and is not intended and does not reflect Galleria of Smiles’s opinion on the accuracy or the importance of these other sites; further, Galleria of Smiles does not endorse in any manner any of the views expressed in, or products or services offered by these other sites. All information in any site by Galleria of Smiles, or associated or linked site, is extracted, read, used, or relied upon by you at your own risk.

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With respect to products, goods, or services purchased from any entity identified, listed, named or contacted through Galleria of Smiles’s website, or any links to Galleria of Smiles’s website, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event shall Galleria of Smiles or its suppliers or vendors be liable for any direct, indirect, special, punitive, incidental, exemplary, contractual, or consequential damages, or any damages whatsoever of any kind, resulting from any loss, which by way of example, includes loss of use, loss of data, loss of profits, business interruption, litigation, or any other pecuniary loss, whether based on breach of contract, tort (including negligence), product liability, or otherwise, arising out of or in any way connected with the use or performance of this site, with the delay or inability to use this site, or with the provision of or failure to make available any information, services, products, materials, or other resources contained on or accessible through this site, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

You acknowledge and agree that the limitations set forth above are elements of this agreement, and that this site would not be provided to you absent such limitations.

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You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Galleria of Smiles and its suppliers and vendors from any liability, loss, claim, and expense (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) related to your violation of this agreement or use of this site in any manner. Your use of this site shall constitute your acceptance of the terms of this Agreement, as revised and modified, if any, each time you access this site. Galleria of Smiles may modify this agreement at any time, and such modifications shall be effective immediately upon posting of the modified agreement.

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This agreement and the resolution of any dispute related to this agreement or this site shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Oklahoma, without giving effect to any principles or conflicts of law. Any legal action or proceeding between Galleria of Smiles or its links, suppliers or vendors and you related to this agreement or this site shall be brought exclusively in a state or federal court of competent jurisdiction sitting in Tulsa County, Oklahoma.

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All materials on this website, including the site’s design, layout, and organization, are owned and copyrighted by Galleria of Smiles or its suppliers or vendors, and are protected by U.S. and international copyrights.

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