Sniff it, go on! (Oral B Essential Floss)

Member Name: carly_pussycat

Product:	Oral B Essential Floss
Date:	13/08/07 (100 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Doesn't shred, glides in and out easily but pulling bits out effectively

Disadvantages: Can't see when it's running low due to opaque container

I don’t know about you lot but going to the dentist is not top of my Favourite Things To Do list so I generally do what I can to avoid turning into a toothless wonder before I’m 30. To me this used to just mean religiously brushing my teeth daily for 2-3 minutes morning and night. Every now and then my boyfriend and I would buy some floss and use it once in a blue moon saying “eww gross” at whatever smelly little gems we’d extracted from the spaces between our teeth but it didn’t immediately become a daily habit.

(“,) The Benefits of Flossing (“,)

The purpose of both brushing and flossing is to reduce the number of bacteria living in your mouth. Millions of microscopic monsters live in your mouth feeding on food particles left on your teeth. These bacteria produce acid which eats into tooth enamel creating cavities and the bacteria can also be a cause of bad breath. If you do not floss and allow plaque to remain in between teeth it eventually hardens into tartar. Plaque can be easily removed by brushing whereas tartar can only be removed by your dentist. A decent toothbrush should be doing the job on the insides, outsides and biting surfaces of your teeth but none can reach in between teeth like floss can (apart from a specially designed electric interdental brush). Brushing combined with flossing can also prevent such oral problems as gingivitis and periodonal disease.

So, if that wasn’t enough to convince you I don’t know what will! I can’t remember exactly when or why my boyfriend and I started flossing daily, but what I do know is that when we did, within a couple of weeks it was a habit (obsession?!) I can’t stand flosses that shred or tear after using them on a couple of teeth so I generally go for well known brands because I trust they’ll be good. So far I have been unimpressed with anything unwaxed, anything which is not floss but ‘tape’ (it glides in and out easily but has no friction to pull gunk out!) and Wisdom’s floss which was so incredibly bad it was like attempting to floss with cotton (I’m not a wasteful person but I threw it away it was that infuriating).


(“,) Oral B Essential Floss (“,)

Last week marked my fourth repeat purchase of this floss so I feel it’s my duty to share this one with you as it seems a good floss is surprisingly hard to come by. This product is sold in the dental section of most large supermarkets so shouldn’t be difficult to find, alternatively a chemist like Boots or Superdrug will stock it. There isn’t always both options but this floss is sold either unscented or Mint, I always choose Mint but I don’t suppose it matters as you will probably have just cleaned your teeth with mint toothpaste when you floss.

The container isn’t particularly snazzy or interesting but it does its job. It’s a small round plastic container with a flip top lid. Once the lid’s flipped up you pull out your length of floss and break it off with the metal cutter, which never fails to work. Obviously it takes a few uses until you know the amount of floss you need to use each time but this one doesn’t require too much as I find it easy to hold between my fingers and there is no need for lots of excess to be wound around your fingers to lever the flippin’ thing out when it gets stuck between your teeth (as I’ve had with other brands!)

I find that the floss glides in and out with ease but unlike a tape which glides in and out easily but removes nothing, it comes out with beautiful brown pieces of whatever you’ve eaten that day. So gross, yet so satisfying (and I can’t be the only person to sniff it? haha). It is very rare that I find myself slicing my gums when I floss with this because due to it being waxed there is no tricky sawing action to get it in so there is less risk of it happening. My boyfriend’s teeth are closer together than mine so often he has trouble slicing his gums when flossing but he rarely complains of this when using this floss. I have never found shredding or tearing to be a problem when using this floss. Of course when you’ve finished all your teeth it looks slightly more worn than when you started but I’ve never had any fibres get stuck in between my teeth or had to use another piece because the existing one was no longer usable.

The only possible complaint I can make about this floss is that due to the opaque white plastic box you can’t see when it’s running out like you could if the box were see through like some other brands. This has taught me to have one space in the cupboard for when the current one runs out becaue as I mentioned before, it’s become something of an obsession and if I have to go to bed without flossing now I feel like a reet grubby girl.

It is sold in a 50m box which, if you use it like we do, will last just over 3 months. At £1.89 (around 32p per person per month) I think it’s a more than decent price for the peace of mind that you're doing your best to keep your teeth looking and feeling good.

Summary: A decently priced floss which does the job most effectively of everything I've tried