What’s the Best Way to Floss Your Teeth?

To floss properly, use about 18 inches of floss, hold a short section taut between your thumbs and forefingers, and ease it between your teeth with a gentle back-and-forth motion. When the floss reaches the gum line, curve it into a C-shape against one tooth, slide it just below the gum line, and rub it up and down the side of the tooth. Repeat on the neighboring tooth, then move on with a fresh section of floss.

Flossing matters because your toothbrush cannot reach the surfaces where teeth touch each other or the shallow pocket where tooth meets gum. Those hidden surfaces collect plaque, a sticky film of bacteria that feeds on food debris. Left undisturbed, plaque hardens into tartar within days, and the bacteria in it irritate the gums and produce acids that eat into enamel. Flossing is the simplest way to disrupt that film daily, before it causes cavities between the teeth or gum disease.

Many people skip it. Cleveland Clinic notes that an estimated 1 in 5 adults never floss at all, and surveys cited by the American Dental Association (ADA) consistently show that even people who do floss often use a quick snap-and-pull motion that cleans very little. Technique, not just frequency, is what makes flossing work.

Choosing the right floss

The best floss is the one that fits your teeth and that you will actually use every day. The main options are:

• Standard nylon floss. A thin strand sold waxed or unwaxed, flavored or plain. Waxed floss slides more easily through tight contacts; unwaxed floss sometimes squeaks against clean tooth surfaces, which some people find a useful signal.
• PTFE (monofilament) floss. A single, slick strand that glides through very tight spaces and resists shredding.
• Dental tape. A wider, flatter ribbon that covers more surface per stroke. It suits people with wider gaps, bridges, or braces.
• Super floss. A specialty product with a stiff threader end, a spongy middle section, and a regular floss tail, designed for braces, bridges, and implants.
• Floss picks and holders. A short piece of floss stretched on a plastic handle. Convenient and helpful for back teeth or limited dexterity, though the whole mouth is cleaned with one small section unless you rinse the pick as you go.
• Interdental brushes. Tiny brushes that scrub between teeth. They work well where gaps are wider, around implants, and under bridges.
• Water flossers. Devices that pulse water between the teeth. Useful for people with braces, implants, or difficulty handling string floss.

Whatever you choose, the ADA suggests looking for the ADA Seal of Acceptance, which means the product has been evaluated for safety and effectiveness.

How to floss: step-by-step

The method below follows the technique recommended by the ADA on its consumer site, MouthHealthy. A full session takes about two to three minutes once you are practiced.

1. Measure and wind. Break off about 18 inches (45 cm) of floss. Wind most of it around the middle finger of one hand and the rest around the middle finger of the other hand. The second finger will take up used floss as you work.
2. Get your grip. Pinch the floss tightly between your thumbs and forefingers, leaving about 1 to 2 inches of working floss between your hands. Use your thumbs to guide floss between the upper teeth and your forefingers for the lower teeth.
3. Ease it in. Guide the floss between two teeth with a gentle rubbing or sawing motion. Never snap or force it straight down — a sudden snap can cut the gum tissue between the teeth.
4. Form the C. When the floss reaches the gum line, curve it into a C-shape so it hugs the side of one tooth.
5. Clean below the gum line. Slide the floss gently into the space between the gum and the tooth until you feel slight resistance, then rub it up and down the side of the tooth several times, following the tooth’s contour.
6. Clean the other side. Still in the same gap, curve the floss around the neighboring tooth and repeat the up-and-down strokes. Every gap has two tooth surfaces, and both collect plaque.
7. Advance to clean floss. Unwind a fresh section from one finger and wind the used section onto the other, so you are not dragging plaque from one gap into the next.
8. Work through the whole mouth. Repeat for every tooth, including the back side of the last molars, which are easy to forget and prone to buildup. When you finish, throw the floss away — never reuse it — and rinse your mouth with water.

Common flossing mistakes

Most problems with flossing come from a handful of habits:

• Snapping the floss into the gums. This can cause small cuts (sometimes called floss cuts) and, over time, gum recession. Always ease the floss through the contact point with a sawing motion.
• Skipping the C-shape. Popping floss straight down and back up cleans only the contact point. The plaque lives on the curved side of the tooth and just under the gum line, which only the C-shape reaches.
• Stopping because your gums bleed. Mild bleeding is common during the first week of a new routine because the gums are already inflamed. With gentle daily flossing, bleeding usually settles within a week or so. Quitting restarts the cycle.
• Using the same section throughout. A dirty section redeposits bacteria. Advancing to fresh floss for each gap is part of the technique, not an optional extra.
• Flossing only when food is stuck. Removing a visible piece of food is dentistry’s emergency use for floss; the daily goal is plaque removal, which you cannot see or feel.
• Rushing. A ten-second once-over misses most surfaces. Slow down and treat each side of each tooth individually.

Should you floss before or after brushing?

The ADA’s position is that either order works, as long as you do a thorough job. There is, however, a reasonable argument for flossing first: flossing loosens plaque and debris from between the teeth, and brushing afterwards sweeps it away and leaves fluoride toothpaste in contact with the freshly cleaned surfaces. A study published in the Journal of Periodontology found that flossing before brushing reduced interdental plaque more than the reverse order. Cleveland Clinic  periodontist Sasha Ross, DMD, makes the same practical point — the order matters far less than doing both, though flossing first appears to carry a small edge. Pick the sequence you will stick with; many people find that flossing first, ideally at night before bed, makes the habit easier to keep.

Flossing with braces, bridges, implants, and retainers

Braces. Wires block the straight path floss normally takes, so expect the job to take 10 to 15 minutes at first. Use a floss threader or super floss to pass the floss under the wire for each tooth, then floss normally. Waxed floss or PTFE floss is less likely to catch and shred on brackets. A water flosser can cut the time considerably and is a good daily partner to string floss.

Bridges and implants. Super floss or a threader lets you pass floss underneath a bridge or around an implant post. Interdental brushes sized to the gap are often even easier for daily use, and keeping the area under a bridge clean is essential because food and plaque collect there out of the toothbrush’s reach.

Permanent (bonded) retainers. The wire glued behind the front teeth needs the same threader technique as braces for the teeth it crosses. Plaque builds up quickly along these wires, so they deserve a place in the daily routine, not an occasional effort.

Tight contacts. If floss consistently shreds, catches, or tears in the same spot, that is information, not just annoyance. A rough filling edge, a cracked tooth, or early decay between the teeth can all shred floss, and your dentist can find and fix the cause.

What about floss picks, water flossers, and interdental brushes?

String floss is not the only evidence-based option. The ADA’s summary of the research notes that a 2019 Cochrane review found floss or interdental brushes used alongside brushing may reduce gingivitis and plaque more than brushing alone, and that interdental brushes may be more effective than floss for some people — particularly where the gaps between teeth are wide enough to admit them. Water flossers have their strongest evidence in people with braces, implants, or limited hand mobility. Floss picks clean less thoroughly per stroke because the floss cannot wrap into a full C, but they beat not flossing at all. In practice, the hierarchy is simple: the best interdental cleaner is the one matched to your teeth that you use every day, and your dentist or hygienist can help you choose at your next visit. If you are unsure how often professional cleaning should happen for you, see our guide on how often you should get your teeth cleaned.

Flossing for children

Children need interdental cleaning as soon as two teeth touch each other, which often happens with the baby molars. Parents should do the flossing — most children do not have the dexterity to floss effectively until around age 10 — using either soft floss or kid-sized floss picks, which many families find easier on small teeth. Making it part of the bedtime routine, alongside brushing, builds the habit early.

When flossing is a warning sign

Flossing should not hurt. See a dentist if you notice any of the following:

• Bleeding that continues after two weeks of gentle, daily flossing
• Gums that are swollen, receding, or tender in one particular spot
• Floss that repeatedly shreds or gets stuck between the same teeth
• Persistent bad breath despite good brushing and flossing — our overview of home remedies for bad breath covers common causes, but breath that does not improve deserves a dental exam
• Pain when the floss passes a particular tooth

These can be early signs of gum disease, decay between the teeth, or a failing filling. Caught early, all three are much easier to treat. Understanding how plaque hardens also helps: see our explainer on plaque vs. tartar for why daily disruption matters.

The takeaway

Floss once a day, gently and thoroughly: 18 inches of floss, a C-shape against each tooth, a slide just below the gum line, and a fresh section for every gap. Do it before brushing if you want the small extra benefit, protect the tricky spots around braces, bridges, and retainers with threaders or interdental brushes, and treat persistent bleeding or shredding floss as a reason to book a dental visit rather than a reason to stop.

Sources

• American Dental Association. Dental Floss / Interdental Cleaners.
• American Dental Association, MouthHealthy. Flossing.
• Cleveland Clinic. Flossing 101: How To Floss the Right Way .

This article is for general information only and is not medical or dental advice. If you have pain, persistent bleeding, or concerns about your teeth or gums, see a dentist.