In my 10 years of working as a dentist, I have come to one conclusion regarding home care: most patients are willing to add just ONE product to their daily routine in addition to their toothbrush. When I hear a hygienist telling their patient to floss, then use the water flosser, then use proxy brushes, and then use a tongue scraper, my experience, unfortunately, tells me that the patient is so overwhelmed by that laundry list that they don't end up doing any of it.
With that in mind, when I started developing the Slate Electric Flosser, I tasked myself with including as many useful features as possible so that if a patient decides to make our flosser their one additional home care tool, they can derive the maximum benefit possible.
Discover these 7 tips to maximize the benefits of
your Slate Electric Flosser.
1. Leave your Slate Electric Flosser standing upright on your countertop
Our number one goal at Slate is to make flossing so easy, effective, and (dare we say) enjoyable that people will look forward to doing it every day. By having the flosser stand on your counter in plain sight (rather than in a drawer or medicine cabinet), it acts as a visual reminder to develop the daily habit of picking it up and using it.
2. Dip your floss head in an alcohol-free mouth rinse.
Whether you like to swish with ACT fluoride rinse or my personal favorite, CariFree Maintenance Rinse, you can pour a small amount of the rinse into a cup. Between each tooth, you simply dip the floss head into the rinse. This will help to deliver the fluoride, xylitol, and other beneficial ingredients to the hard-to-reach areas between your teeth. Then, once I'm done flossing, I use the same cup of mouth rinse to swish with. For me personally, my mouth feels fresher when I use this routine compared to flossing alone.
3. Roll the floss into a position where you have tight contacts
If you notice that you are having a tough time getting the floss in or out of a tight contact, or if you are shredding the floss too quickly, rolling the floss head can make a notable difference. To do this, start with the floss head on the cheek side of your tooth with the floss itself at a 45-degree angle relative to the biting surface. Then, gently apply pressure to the floss as you roll it between the teeth, making the floss and the biting surface parallel. Simply reverse this motion to remove the floss by moving the back of the floss head out toward your cheek.
4. Scrape the teeth on either side of the interproximal contact
Popping the floss in and out of your contacts does some good, but to properly disrupt the growth of harmful biofilm between your teeth, a more intentional effort needs to be made. Fortunately, the Slate Electric Flosser makes this task easy and effective. Once you pass the floss through a contact, clean the back tooth by gently pushing on the handle while moving the floss up and down below the gumline. Then, to clean the front tooth, gently pull on the handle while making the same up and down motion. The 12,000 sonic vibrations make this routine just that much more effective.
5. Utilize the Gum Sweeps
After the vibrating floss has done its job, the perfect way to finish off the job of cleaning the area between your teeth is with our Gum Sweeps. By gently moving the floss head from tongue to cheek, the Gum Sweeps are perfectly shaped to reach into the space between your teeth to massage the gums at the perfect angle while simultaneously scrubbing the spot where cavities most often occur. You will be surprised by the amount of plaque that gets collected by the ribs and bristles on the Gum Sweeps, and splendidly delighted with how vibrant and alive your gums feel.
6. Scrape your tongue
A good percentage of the bacteria in our mouths lives on the surface of our tongue. When you look at the tongue under a microscope, it's easy to see why. The millions of tiny hairs look similar to a towel and the spaces between the hairs are a perfect space for bacteria to set up shop. The tongue scraper on the back of the Slate Electric Flosser has two rows of bristles that lift and rake the hairs of the tongue while the final squeegee collects and removes all the nasty gunk. Your significant other will thank you for how much fresher your breath is after scraping your tongue.
7. I dare you to floss twice a day
While I am ecstatic when a customer tells me that the Slate Electric Flosser has made them into a daily flosser, I wonder if we can't go just one step further. If we are brushing for two minutes in the morning, two minutes at night, and flossing with the Slate Electric Flosser for one minute at night, would it really be too much to go from five minutes a day to six minutes? I promise you will love walking out the door in the morning with your teeth and gums feeling clean and vibrant.
TREAT YOUR MOUTH TO A BETTER FLOSSER
JOIN OUR COMMUNITY
@slateflosser