Q:

Should I floss before or after I brush my teeth?

“Floss first,” says David Kim, an assistant professor at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. It will not only lessen your chances of skipping this vital ritual altogether, it will also help ensure that the particles stirred up by flossing don’t stay in your mouth. “With this sequence, you can disrupt plaque and dislodge food particles from between your teeth, which you’ll then be able to sweep out more thoroughly with brushing,” he says. As for which floss to use, go with whatever type you find easiest to slip between your teeth. A study published in the Journal of Periodontology compared different kinds of flosses – including unwaxed, woven and shred-resistant – and found almost no difference in ease of use or overall effectiveness.

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